MANILA – The Senate has denied holiday furlough for contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya and three former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers implicated in the flood control scandal.

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Sen. Ping Lacson said temporarily releasing them on Christmas could increase the risk of escape and undermine accountability.

“So the risk of escape becomes greater — not to mention that it makes no sense to grant such requests for Christmas leave if indeed warrants are coming out by then,” Lacson said on Tuesday, December 23.

Lacson cited repeated pronouncements from Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos that arrest warrants would be issued ahead of Christmas. Senate President Vicente Sotto III approved Lacson’s recommendation, effectively denying the leave requests of Discaya and former engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, and Jaypee Mendoza.

The four have been detained under Senate custody since being cited in contempt for seemingly refusing to cooperate in the investigation into anomalous flood control projects. Alcantara, Hernandez, and Mendoza previously testified about substandard and ghost infrastructure projects in Bulacan’s First District, implicating lawmakers and former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo. They were provisionally accepted into the Witness Protection Program after committing to return stolen assets and providing detailed testimonies under a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Justice.

Sotto clarified that while the four will remain in Senate custody, they may attend Mass and receive family visits but cannot leave the chamber’s grounds.

“That’s the most that we can allow given the circumstances,” Lacson said, adding that he hopes Remulla will ensure charges are filed on time before the Sandiganbayan.

So far, only Sarah Discaya, wife of Curlee, has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation. She surrendered on December 9 and was formally arrested on December 18 in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, pending arraignment. She faces multiple criminal cases, including malversation through falsification of public documents and tax evasion. No cases have been filed yet against her husband.

Lacson emphasized that swift filing of cases against public officials found with probable cause for misusing public funds should “strike fear,” particularly among lawmakers who continue to maintain questionable allocations and insertions in the budget despite reform efforts.