Couple Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya during last year’s Senate blue ribbon committee hearing —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN, Philippines — Contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II and two Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers are being held in separate mandatory preventive isolation units at the Bulacan Provincial Jail for security and safety reasons.
Jail warden Enrico Vargas said on Tuesday that Discaya and former DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office officials Norberto de Leon Santos and Merg Jaron Laus are safe and not receiving any special treatment.
“They are being held in separate mandatory preventive isolation and security rooms and will remain there for at least two weeks,” Vargas told the Inquirer.
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READ: Curlee Discaya leaves Senate for Bulacan jail
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“We assure everyone that they are safe and will not be accorded special treatment. They will be treated like ordinary persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), but their safety and security must also be ensured,” he said.
Discaya was transferred to the provincial jail on Monday after being in the Senate’s custody since September. The Malolos Regional Trial Court ordered his arrest on graft and malversation charges last week over alleged anomalies in a flood control project in Bulacan worth P53.9 million. His coaccused include his wife Cezarah and former and current DPWH officials.
READ: Vico Sotto hopes ‘more will be imprisoned’ after Curlee Discaya’s arrest
Vargas said jail guards have been assigned to monitor the three detainees around the clock.
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Good health
According to the warden, Discaya, Santos and Laus underwent medical examinations upon their admission to the provincial detention facility and were found to be in good physical condition.
The three suspects are among the newest additions to the population of the Bulacan Provincial Jail, which currently houses 1,848 PDLs, composed of 1,677 men and 171 women.
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Discaya’s lawyer, Cornelio Samaniego, said on Monday that his client would not seek hospital arrest despite recently undergoing shoulder surgery.
However, Samaniego said their legal team plans to petition the court to allow Discaya to post bail.
The charges of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents are generally considered nonbailable offenses.
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But Samaniego was hopeful, saying that not all offenses classified as nonbailable are automatically beyond judicial review. “We will file a motion and ask the court to allow bail,” he said. /cb
Read the full article at Philippine Daily Inquirer →📄Source document: Office of the Ombudsman
5 reports
Philippine Daily InquirerIndependentCenter11 days agoThe Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed plunder, graft, and malversation charges against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and former PhilHealth CEO Emmanuel Ledesma, citing insufficient evidence. A consolidated resolution dated June 2 was made public Tuesday.
Bias read (Center): The article reports facts from an official decision without loaded language, one-sided sourcing, or editorialization, using neutral phrasing like 'cleared' and 'junked' to describe Ombudsman rulings.
Official sources cited
- government Office of the Ombudsman
Philippine Daily InquirerIndependentCenter11 days ago Discaya, coaccused placed in separate isolation roomsContractor Pacifico Discaya II and two Department of Public Works and Highways engineers are being held in separate isolation units at Bulacan Provincial Jail for security and safety reasons, according to jail warden Enrico Vargas.
Bias read (Center): The article uses neutral language and straightforward attribution, reporting only the official statement from the jail warden without loaded framing or editorializing.
Philippine Daily InquirerIndependentCenter11 days ago Ombudsman urged to probe DOH exec’s flight upgradeThe Alliance of Health Workers has urged the Philippine Office of the Ombudsman to investigate a Department of Health executive over an alleged flight upgrade from economy to business class, raising questions about whether such conduct constitutes grounds for a graft charge.
Bias read (Center): The framing centers on health workers' call for investigation and their characterization of the issue without presenting the executive's perspective or counterarguments, slightly privileging the workers' position.
Official sources cited
- organisation Alliance of Health Workers (AHW)
- government Office of the Ombudsman
- government Department of Health (DOH)
Philippine Daily InquirerIndependentCenter12 days ago Ombudsman junks plunder, graft complaint vs RectoThe Office of the Ombudsman dismissed plunder, graft, and malversation complaints filed against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and former PhilHealth CEO Emmanuel Ledesma. The dismissal was contained in a consolidated resolution dated June 2 and provided to the media on Tuesday.
Bias read (Center): The report uses neutral, factual language to state the Ombudsman's dismissal of the complaints without loaded wording or favoring any side.
Official sources cited
- government Office of the Ombudsman
Philippine Daily InquirerIndependentCenter12 days ago Curlee Discaya leaves Senate for Bulacan jailPhilippine contractor Pacifico 'Curlee' Discaya II has been transferred from Senate detention to a Bulacan jail to face charges of graft and malversation related to alleged irregularities in a P53.9-million flood control project in Calumpit town. He had been held at the Senate for over nine months.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on legal proceedings against an individual without overtly favoring any political side. It provides factual information about the transfer of a defendant and the nature of the charges, with no apparent ideological framing or biased language.
PH