Discaya renovated Romualdez’s Forbes Park house — eyewitnesses

MANILA, Philippines – Two witnesses told the Senate blue ribbon committee on Monday, January 19, that controversial contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya renovated a house in Forbes Park in Makati in 2023 for the supposed new owner, Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez, presidential cousin and House speaker at the time.

The witnesses, whom Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Panfilo Lacson referred to by their aliases “Joy” and “Marie,” went to the Senate on Monday to recount how they came to meet Discaya at the 3,196-square-meter house and lot in Forbes Park, Makati. They were the household staff of businessman Ricardo Ocampo, who was renting the house before it was bought by the new owners.

Rappler has confirmed through corporate filings that the new owner of the property at 30 Tamarind Road, Forbes Park, is a company owned by Jose Raulito Paras, Romualdez’s business associate and fraternity brother.

The witnesses’ testimony, together with the confirmed ownership, provide the first direct links between Romualdez and the Discayas. Previously, the only connection had been Curlee Discaya’s testimony that lawmakers had demanded kickbacks from them in Romualdez’s name, a claim the former House speaker has denied. Curlee has admitted to delivering kickbacks to public officials, claiming that it was the only way they could secure projects.

Discaya renovated the Forbes house

The two staff said during the hearing that the house their boss was renting had been sold to another owner. When their boss was moving out, the two staff met a broker and a contractor. They were there to “oversee us move out as they prepared to immediately proceed with the renovations on the property,” they said in their affidavit.

“We already mentioned to our boss na nung lumabas sa TV si Mr Discaya, sabi ko sa boss ko, tsaka sa colleague ko, Ma’am tingnan mo ‘tong maigi, hindi ba ito ang contractor na pinakilala sa atin [ng broker] and we both agreed it was him,” said one of the two witnesses.

(We already mentioned to our boss that when we saw Mr. Discaya on television, I told my boss and my colleague, “Ma’am, look at him closely, wasn’t he the contractor introduced to us by the broker?” and we both agreed it was him.)

The witness said they met Discaya on February 1 and 2, 2024. The witnesses said they were trying to bargain for more time to move out, to which Discaya allegedly said he was just following the deadline of the new owners. When the witnesses asked who the new owners are so they could directly coordinate, Discaya allegedly said, “Si Romualdez ang nakabili (Romualdez bought it).”

During the hearing, Lacson asked the two witnesses, who were wearing face masks to hide their faces, to approach Discaya in the room to confirm if he was indeed the contractor they met. The two women approached Discaya.

Discaya asked Lacson to order the witnesses to remove their face covering so he could properly identify them because he didn’t remember having met them. The senator rejected the request, saying it the burden was on Discaya to refute their claims.

Discaya denied the information saying he has never been in South Forbes park. “Hindi pa ako nakapasok ng South Forbes park (I have not entered South Forbes Park),” said Discaya.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Discaya’s denial is noted.

Curlee and his wife Sarah are among the biggest contractors of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), particularly for flood control projects. Some of their projects are allegedly substandard, or do not exist at all. They have so far failed in their bid to become protected state witnesses. Sarah Discaya is in jail in Cebu, where she faces charges of graft and malversation over an alleged ghost project there. The judge did not set bail.

So far, resigned congressman Zaldy Co and his supposed former bodyguard Orly Guteza have claimed delivering kickbacks to Romualdez, which the former speaker also denied. Co is in hiding, evading a warrant for graft over a substandard project in Oriental Mindoro. – Rappler.com