Curlee Discaya admits giving paper bags of cash to QC officials

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September 18, 2025 | 3:06pm

MANILA, Philippines — Controversial contractor Curlee Discaya admitted Thursday that his firms handed out paper bags of cash to local officials as part of kickback schemes, implicating Quezon City lawmakers and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials in the widening flood-control scandal.

At the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Thursday, September 18, Discaya flipflopped on the degree of his firms’ participation in the kickback schemes, from being pressured to downright forced. 

Sen. Risa Hontiveros noted that several contractors in the Bulacan flood-control mess—Wawao Builders, IM Construction Corp., and the Discaya-owned St. Timothy’s, and Alpha and Omega—were also active in Quezon City.

Discaya admitted that officials of the city and local Department of Public Works and HIghways (DPWH) employees received 10% to 25% of the funding.

“Kinukuha po nila sa amin, Your Honor,” Curlee said, insisting that they were forced to distribute cash. (They would get it from us.) 

Cash in paper bags

Not giving an explicit yes or no at first, Curlee insisted that if they did not agree to the officials’ demands, they would be slapped with mutual terminations and right of way issues. 

Finally pressed if they did release kickbacks to Quezon City officials, Curlee finally answered: “Yes.” 

The money was usually transacted through large sums of cash, but Curlee refused to disclose exactly how much those were. They would keep the money in paperbags, he said, which they would either hand off to officials at Shangri-La Hotel or their offices. 

Asked where he and his wife, Sarah, withdrew their money from, Curlee refused to answer.

Officials tagged

In the Discayas’ first sworn affidavit, several officials from Quezon City were named in kickback schemes, including lawmakers. 

While Curlee did not repeat the names during the hearing, he confirmed he was referring to those previously listed in the affidavit. Named in the Discayas' sworn affidavit were: 

• Rep. Arjo Atayde, Quezon City
• Rep. Marvin Rillo, Quezon City 
• Rep. Marivic Garcia Co-Pilar, Quezon City
• District Engineer Michael Rosaria of DPWH Quezon 2nd DEO

Atayde, the First District representative who is also an actor, earlier this month said he had never transacted with the Discayas. "It was a quick 'hi, hello' and picture-taking since it wasn't a planned meeting. It was the first and last time I met with them," he said.

At the hearing Thursday, Curlee walked back his wife Sarah’s earlier claim that their nine firms bid for the same projects, saying she had been confused under questioning.

“Kinakabahan lang po siya. Pero sa record po namin, wala po. Wala po naglalabanan,” he said. (She just got nervous. But in our records, none of our firms competed.)

Sarah had testified that multiple family-owned companies had bid for the same contracts.

At the start of the hearing, Curlee was cited in contempt for conflicting claims on his wife's reasons for non-attendance.

Earlier this week, the anti-money laundering authority ordered the couple's bank accounts frozen along with those of other government contractors purportedly tagged in a massive scheme involving flood-control infrastructure funds.