Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan demanded to see the Discaya couple’s alleged payoff ledger, which includes the names of the officials who supposedly received kickbacks from their construction companies.
During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s resumption of hearing on the anomalous infrastructure projects on Friday, November 14, the senator pressed contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya to submit the ledger that would back their claims.
He specifically turned to Mr. Discaya, who argued that he could not look for the ledger because he is being detained in the Senate.
“Mr. Discaya, nakakulong na po kayo. Nabanggit na nga po ni Chairman na baka isama na rin po si Mrs. Discaya. Dahil mukhang nagbibigay ka ng kung anu-anong palusot para ‘di mailabas yung
ledger. Yun ang dating sa amin sa komite,” Pangilinan said after Senate President Vicente Sotto III pointed out that Mrs. Discaya could look for the ledger since she is not being detained.
“Sana kung ayaw ninyo makulong pati si
Mrs. Discaya, iyon ang paraan. Sumunod na lang at ibalik dito yung ledger,” he added when Mr. Discaya claimed that his wife doesn’t know the location of the ledger.
The couple was then sent off by the committee, accompanied by the Senate Sergeant at Arms, to locate the ledger and submit it within the day.
During the hearing, Pangilinan also grilled former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Roberto Bernardo and Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara on how kickbacks are allocated to lawmakers based on allocable and special funds under either the National Expenditure Program (NEP) or the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
He questioned the formulation of how the kickbacks were computed and sought clarification on how money is being funneled through various government projects.
The Senator is likewise pushing to invite a certain Assistant Secretary Joy Manginsay from the DPWH, who Bernardo said acted as the liaison officer to the Congress when he was still with the department.