Who Really Runs Marcos Jr.’s Flood Control Projects? All Roads Lead to the Discayas

A powerful construction empire tied to the Discaya family has emerged as the biggest recipient of government flood control projects under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., according to a new report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

The family, led by Sara Discaya and her husband Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II, is linked to at least eight companies that together secured an estimated ₱31.6 billion ($557 million) worth of projects from 2022 to 2025. That amount makes the Discayas the single largest contractor group handling flood control works in the country.

Corporate records show the firms share the same auditor and are clustered around a single business address in Pasig City. The companies include Amethyst Horizon Builders, Elite General Contractor, St. Gerrard Construction, Way Maker General Contractor, St. Timothy Construction, Alpha & Omega Construction, Great Pacific Builders, and St. Matthew Construction.

Several members of the Discaya family, as well as close associates, appear as majority shareholders or presidents of the companies, with ownership stakes ranging from 85% to 100%. Among them are Sara and Curlee Discaya, their son Matthew Carl, and other relatives and trusted partners.

Combined, these companies are responsible for hundreds of infrastructure projects worth billions of pesos, raising questions about how a single family came to dominate a key sector of government contracting.

Speculation swirled recently that the family had left the Philippines as investigators reviewed possible irregularities in the projects. But Curlee Discaya denied the claims in a text message to reporters.

“We are here in the Philippines. We are not afraid, nor will we run away, because we do not have any ghost projects,” he said.

Discaya blamed the controversy on erroneous data uploaded by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), as well as outdated budget plans that he said may have been mistaken for official reports.

The investigation into the flood control contracts is ongoing.