Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson yesterday said that contractor Pacifico Discaya II and three former Department of Public Works and Highways engineers will not be granted holiday furloughs due to security concerns.
The four detained individuals: Discaya and former engineers Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, and Henry Alcantara, are under Senate scrutiny in connection with the flood control project investigation.
Discaya was cited in contempt for lying about his wife’s absence during a hearing and remains under investigation for alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
Hernandez is implicated in ghost and overpriced projects and has been admitted into the Witness Protection Program as a state witness.
Alcantara is also acting as a state witness, revealing kickback schemes, while Mendoza was dismissed, cited in contempt, and may face license revocation amid ongoing probes.
Lacson, who chairs the Blue Ribbon Committee, said Senate President Vicente Sotto III approved his recommendation to deny their leave requests.
“Owing to the repeated media statements from Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that arrest warrants against them will be issued before Christmas… the risk of escape becomes greater. It makes no sense to grant such requests for Christmas leave if indeed warrants are coming out by then,” he explained.
Alcantara sought Christmas leave through the Department of Justice, but the request was denied in line with the Senate leadership’s decision.
Despite this development, Sotto allowed the four to attend Mass within Senate premises and permitted limited family visits, but no activities outside.
Lacson described the measures as the maximum allowances possible under the circumstances and expressed hopes that the Office of the Ombudsman would meet its publicly announced timelines for filing charges against those responsible for the misappropriation of public funds.
“Assuming that probable cause is clearly established against those responsible for the plunder of public funds, if only to strike fear among those who still entertain the idea that they can get away with stealing our citizens’ hard-earned tax money,” the senator concluded.
