TRUE ENOUGH, wedding vows made by couple Curlee and Sara Discaya are not made to be broken through thick and thin, in richer or poorer, sickness and health — and even incarceration.
Not long after the court issued a commitment order which effectively took Sara Discaya to a real jail where every day is a fight for survival, her husband Curlee may soon find himself in a similar predicament.
However, they won’t be sitting side by side, not even from a distance where they could see each other as Curlee is reportedly headed to Davao Occidental, which is about eight to 12 hours away from the Lapu-Lapu City Jail where Sara is billeted.
DAVAO PROJECT
For one, Curlee’s name did not appear as owner of St. Timothy Construction Corp.— the construction company that figured in the flood control mess in Davao Occidental.
But several witnesses submitted sworn statements that had him personally calling shots and giving instructions for a flood control project that never was.
Hence, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) asked the prosecutors of the Ombudsman’s office to include Curlee and hold him liable in the flood control scandal by the firm in Davao Occidental.
The case was earlier lodged with the Digos City Regional Trial Court against several DPWH officials and his wife, Sara who has since been detained at the Lapu-Lapu City Jail.
Curlee remains under Senate custody.
BENEFICIAL OWNER
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said that the affidavits gathered by investigators point to Curlee as a possible “beneficial owner” of St. Timothy Construction Corporation, the firm that bagged the flood control contract, Rappler disclosed.
Clavano explained that beneficial ownership refers to a person who exercises control or gives instructions within a company, even if their name does not appear in official corporate documents.
“There was a revelation in the affidavits of various people that Curlee Discaya has beneficial ownership or is exercising control over the companies involved in the Davao Occidental case,” Clavano said.
Establishing that link, Clavano noted, is crucial before prosecutors can formally include him in the charge sheet.
SAFE FOR NOW
Despite the DPWH’s request, Curlee cannot automatically be added as an accused even as Clavano stressed that he must first be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations, in keeping with due process.
The criminal complaints stemmed from a flood control project in Barangay Culaman that prosecutors said existed only on paper.
Records showed that the contract was awarded on January 22, 2022, yet investigators found no actual construction on the ground. Despite this, the DPWH-Davao Occidental District Engineering Office certified the project as “completed,” allowing Discya’s firm to secure the payment for the project.
Aside from Sarah Discaya, other respondents in the case are DPWH district engineer Rodrigo Larete, assistant district engineer Michael Awa, several DPWH section chiefs, project engineers and inspectors, as well as Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando of St. Timothy Construction.