CURLEE AND SARAH Discaya were made to believe that their fortune they amassed would last forever, or so they thought.
With the crackdown on systemic corruption taking its course, the couple – referred to as the king and queen of ghost flood control projects — are now compelled to transition their lifestyle, from grandiosity to nothingness amid multiple charges arising from smuggling of luxury vehicles and nonpayment/ underpayment of duties from legitimate imports.
The Discaya couple are also facing criminal charges for failure to pay P7.1 billion in taxes corresponding to their public works’ windfalls. Worse, they may not even get to use the mansions and luxury cars they bought from stolen public funds.
The BIR filed the complaints against the Discaya couple before the Department of Justice and one Steve Balano, a corporate officer of their construction company, St. Gerrard Construction General Contractor and Development Corporation.
PRIMARY COMPLAINT
Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said the main complaint filed against the Discaya spouses and Steve Balano stemmed from their individual liabilities for failing to file billions in income taxes from 2018 to 2021.
Another case involves their failure to file documentary stamp tax returns and pay the corresponding taxes following their supposed divestment from four of their construction companies.
Lumagui pointed out that failure to pay these taxes indicates that the divestment was not properly carried out, as such filings are essential to legally effect the transfer of shares.
“They never divested because they never paid the corresponding taxes necessary for such divestment,” Lumagui said.
And still another case involves their failure to pay excise taxes on nine luxury vehicles registered under their names. All told, their tax liabilities amount to P7,182,172,532.25, Lumagui said.
SUBJECT SINCE 2024
Lumagui told reporters they started checking on the Discayas in 2024 upon receipt of information about the couple. But the case filing took time because the couple allegedly ignored the subpoenas from the bureau.
“Unang-una binibigyan natin ng due process na ganyan. Minsan hindi nila tinatanggap ‘yong mga notices so kinakailangan pa natin magresort sa iba’t ibang paraan para ma-serve ito. Also, sumusulat tayo sa iba’t ibang ahensya ng gobyerno,” he said.
The couple’s counsel, lawyer Cornelio Samaniego III, said they have yet to see the complaints filed against the couple.
Lumagui said the BIR discovered that the couple failed to pay billions of pesos in income taxes from 2018 to 2021. They also failed to file excise tax returns and taxes for their nine luxury vehicles.
TIP OF THE ICEBERG
At the BIR alone, Curlee and Sara are facing endless litigation even as Lumagui described the P7.1 billion case as just a “tip of the iceberg.”
“Although we have already discovered P7.1 billion in tax deficiencies, the cases filed today are merely the tip of the iceberg, the government’s top tax collected averred.
“These cases focused more on the individual tax liabilities of the Discaya couple. Once we have finished our audit of the Discaya-owned construction firms, we expect findings of billions of tax deficiencies,” Lumagui further noted.
The couple and construction corporations are in hot water amid the government’s ongoing probe into anomalous flood control projects.
Their companies Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corporation and St. Timothy Construction Corporation ranked second and third respectively in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s list of 15 contractors lording over the government flood control projects.
ADMISSION OF GUILT
Sarah has admitted before the Blue Ribbon committee that their construction firms often bidded simultaneously to corner the same government flood control projects.
She claimed to have divested last April from St. Timothy, but the BIR found the couple did not pay the required and appropriate amount of documentary stamp tax return when they supposedly made several transfers/disposal of their shares of stocks from their companies.
“The spouses Discaya never divested from St. Gerard, St. Timothy, St. Matthew, and Alpha & Omega. The BIR has no record of any return or payment for such divestment, particularly that of documentary stamp taxes. They never divested because they never paid the corresponding taxes necessary for such divestment,” Lumagui was quoted in a report published by Rappler.
JUST THE BEGINNING
Additional complaints could be filed after the audit of their other companies would be completed, Lumagui said.
“We’re just getting started. The audits of the other construction companies owned by the Discaya spouses are still ongoing. So far, we’ve only filed cases based on their individual liabilities and those related to St. Gerard. The audits of the other corporations involved in the flood control projects are still ongoing,” he added.
As to other contractors involved in the flood control fund scandal, Lumagui said, they are being audited. But the BIR chief is certain that other individuals/contractors are also under investigation.
“We are continuously conducting audits and investigations on all contractors—not just the contractors. In fact, we are also carrying out lifestyle checks on various individuals involved,” Lumagui said.
He said even some lawmakers implicated in the fund mess are being subjected to lifestyle checks and audited for possible tax liabilities.