From Rags to Riches—or Rigged? The Truth About the ‘Flood Control Queen

The Senate probe into alleged anomalies in flood control projects exploded Monday after businesswoman Sarah Discaya—now dubbed the “Flood Control Queen”—admitted her family’s firms struck gold during the Duterte presidency, shocking even the former president’s most loyal allies.

Discaya, whose companies have cornered over ₱31 billion worth of infrastructure projects since 2022, revealed that while her group started bidding for DPWH contracts in 2012, their big break came in 2016, the very year Rodrigo Duterte entered Malacañang and placed Mark Villar at the helm of Public Works.

Her admission stunned Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Duterte’s ex-top cop and right-hand man. “2016 onwards?” he asked in disbelief after Discaya confirmed that was when her flood control empire truly began.

The revelation once again casts a harsh light on Duterte’s failed promise to stamp out corruption in three to six months, as allies and cronies instead appeared to flourish under his rule.

Senators Smell a Fix

During the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, senators grilled Discaya on how her family-owned firms seemed unstoppable in bagging DPWH contracts.

• Alpha and Omega General Contractor & Development Corp. won 71 flood control projects in 2022 alone, out of 491 bidding attempts.

• St. Timothy Construction Corp., linked to a relative, secured 145 projects since 2022.

  
  

“Nakakapagtaka dahil kayo lagi ang nakakuha ng DPWH contracts. Sino ba talaga sa DPWH ang nagbibigay sa inyo ng listahan ng projects?” Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada pressed, hinting at possible inside access.

Discaya denied any backchannel deals, claiming her companies simply joined tenders posted on the government’s procurement website. But senators were unconvinced.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros flagged how Discaya’s firms, with just 200 employees, supposedly delivered nearly 500 projects in a year. “Posible kaya? Or are you renting out licenses to front for others?” she asked.

Estrada, clearly losing patience, ordered Discaya to submit documents and proof of project completion. “Kung wala kayong kasalanan, magsabi kayo ng totoo. Kung hindi, mananagot kayo sa Senado at sa taong bayan,” he warned.

From Rags to Riches—Or Political Patronage?

Discaya’s backstory reads like a soap opera. Born in London to a Filipina chambermaid and her British employer, she worked as a domestic helper before moving back to the Philippines after the 9/11 attacks.

Back in Pasig, she married Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya, and the couple initially lived in poverty. But their fortunes shifted when they allegedly tapped into family ties: Sarah’s mother was a half-sister of then-Pasig Mayor Vicente “Enteng” Eusebio.

According to columnist Antonio Montalvan II, Eusebio allegedly handed the struggling couple lucrative city contracts, even bankrolling their construction business with “ill-gotten money.” Overnight, the Discaya firm became Class A.

To maintain control over city bidding while faking competition, the family allegedly spawned multiple firms under different names—all tied to the Discayas. That network later ballooned into a multibillion-peso empire reaching far beyond Pasig.

Although Sarah has publicly denied links to the Eusebios—branding them “corrupt”—critics remain skeptical. Montalvan even claimed her failed 2025 Pasig mayoral run was an attempt to re-anchor the city to the Eusebio orbit.

The Billion-Peso Question

Now under Senate scrutiny, the Discayas’ story raises bigger questions:

• Were flood control projects handed out to favored contractors under Duterte and Marcos Jr.?

• Did political ties—not merit—decide who got billions in taxpayer-funded projects?

• And most crucially: how much of that money actually went to real infrastructure, and how much vanished into ghost projects?

  
  

For now, one thing is clear: the so-called “Flood Control Queen” is no longer just a backroom figure. She’s at the center of a political and corruption storm that could wash over not just her family—but the powerful names who may have paved her rise.9