Embattled contractor Pacifico Discaya II, also known as “Curlee,” said he felt he was being “robbed” by the requirement to restitute or return money to the government in order to qualify for the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).
Discaya made the remark during a heated exchange between Senator Rodante Marcoleta and Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon at a hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
During the hearing, Marcoleta asked Discaya what the DOJ had told him before he and his wife, Sarah, could be admitted into the WPP.
“Kung magkano po ang ire-restitute po muna namin… hindi ko po masabi kung magkano kasi para sa akin po, parang kami po ang nanakawan,” Discaya said. He likened the requirement to “modern-day robbery,” saying it appeared as if those being accused were the ones being asked to pay.
The Discaya couple were previously considered “protected witnesses” under the WPP but later stopped cooperating with the DOJ.
Fadullon said the Discayas had named personalities allegedly linked to anomalous flood control projects, but these claims were not supported by additional evidence. He also dismissed as “lies” Discaya’s assertion that the DOJ immediately required them to return ill-gotten wealth.
“Bago man lang makapagsabi ng ganoon, kailangang makita muna kung ano ang gusto at kayang patunayan nina Mr. at Mrs. Discaya sa kanilang salaysay,” Fadullon said, adding that the couple’s lack of coordination with the DOJ prevented their application from being processed and from receiving protection.
Marcoleta has repeatedly questioned the DOJ’s stance that applicants to the WPP must first return illegally acquired wealth, if any, to the state before being admitted into the program.
Sarah Discaya was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation on December 18 after a court issued a warrant against her for corruption and malversation in connection with the alleged P96.5-million ghost flood control project in Davao Occidental.
Curlee Discaya, meanwhile, remains detained at the Senate after being cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee during a September 18 hearing on anomalous flood control projects.
