Dizon: Discayas may face Sandiganbayan charges within weeks

Pacifico Discaya of St. Gerrard Construction, husband of Sarah Discaya of Alpha and Omega Construction, at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on alleged anomalous flood control projects at the Senate Session Hall in Pasay City on Monday, September 8, 2025.INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman is readying the charges it will file against the Discaya couple before the Sandiganbayan, which Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said may be submitted to the anti-graft court in a matter of weeks.

Dizon said Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla told him the recent development on Wednesday night, following the announcement of the Discayas that they will no longer cooperate with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

“Well, Ombudsman Boying said, let’s see in the coming weeks, because the first case we filed against the Discayas, it will be ready. It will be ready for filing at the Sandiganbayan, and those are non-bailable cases,” Dizon, speaking in Filipino, said in an ambush interview on Thursday.

“It’s close, it’s almost time to face each other. I feel like it will just be weeks until the Ombudsman will file the cases that were mentioned to me by Ombudsman Boying,” he said.

READ: Sarah Discaya’s firm, DPWH cashier named in Ombudsman complaint

Now that the contractor couple Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya have decided not to cooperate with the ICI, Dizon noted “that’s their decision,” and stressed that the Discayas will be held accountable for their actions.

“The Ombudsman will chase after them to the full extent of the law, and all the contracts of the Discayas, from 2016 to 2025, that will be needed by the Ombudsman will be provided by us, and everything they need, we will give it to them,” he said.

Last September, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) filed charges against St. Timothy Construction Corp., a firm owned by the Discayas, as well as several of the agency’s own employees in Bulacan, before the Office of the Ombudsman.

They were charged due to five anomalous contracts in Bulacan, with the complaint covering violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Government Procurement Reform Act, and malversation and falsification. /mr