Just last December, the contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya threw one of the most extravagant Christmas parties Metro Manila had ever seen. The couple behind St. Gerrard Construction General Contractor & Development Corp. reportedly spent millions for an event that featured celebrities, lavish food spreads, and raffle prizes that could rival a small-town fiesta. One famous singer was even paid nearly two million pesos to serenade the guests for a few songs.
But this December, the Discayas might find themselves celebrating Christmas behind bars.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon revealed that the Ombudsman is preparing to file the first batch of criminal cases against contractors and government officials involved in the multibillion-peso flood control anomalies—cases that, according to Dizon, are “airtight.” The Discaya couple, long accused of amassing wealth through ghost projects and overpriced contracts, are among those facing non-bailable charges.
“The Ombudsman has already signaled that by November 25, these cases will be filed,” Dizon told reporters. “So by November 26, those involved—including Sarah Discaya—will be spending Christmas in jail. The evidence is solid, and this time, the law will not look the other way.”
It’s a stunning fall from grace for a couple once known for flaunting luxury cars, designer clothes, and socialite parties—all allegedly funded by public works projects meant to prevent flooding in communities that continue to suffer every typhoon season. While the Discayas paraded their wealth online, thousands of Filipinos endured waist-deep floods in places where their companies supposedly built “drainage improvements.”
The Bureau of Customs has now announced that seven of the Discayas’ imported luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce Cullinan worth P42 million, will be auctioned off on November 15. The Rolls-Royce became infamous when Sarah herself bragged about buying it because she liked the built-in umbrella. BOC Deputy Chief of Staff Atty. Chris Noel Bendijo confirmed that “yes, even the umbrella will be part of the auction,” a biting symbol of just how far the mighty have fallen.
The vehicles were seized for lacking import entry documents and certificates of payment, evidence that their supposed “business success” may have been built on fraud from the start.
For years, the Discayas cultivated an image of success—builders of roads, bridges, and lives. But now, as the DPWH and the Ombudsman close in, their empire is collapsing under the weight of their own greed. The irony is bitter: while communities drowned, the Discayas built themselves palaces of gold.
And this December, instead of holiday lights and champagne, they may be staring at the flicker of fluorescent bulbs in a jail cell. The public, long robbed of billions, may finally get a gift worth celebrating—a Christmas without the Discayas’ corruption shadowing it.
