MANILA, Philippines – A Pasay City court upheld the detention of controversial contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II in the Senate, but also told the blue ribbon committee to act on Discaya’s motion for reconsideration that has been “unresolved for an unconscionably long period.”

In a 22-page ruling on Monday, February 23, Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 297 denied Discaya’s petition to nullify the Senate blue ribbon committee’s contempt order against him, which led to his detention.

The court ruled that Discaya failed to prove that his detention was unlawful or that the Senate committed grave abuse of discretion.

“The blue ribbon committee possesses inherent authority, as an incident of the Senate’s power to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation, to cite a resource person in contempt for contumacious conduct — including the giving of false or evasive testimony,” the decision read.

Discaya has been detained by the Senate since September 18, 2025, following discrepancies in his statements about the reason behind the absence of his wife, Sarah, from a Senate hearing.

Sarah’s letter explaining her absence cited a scheduled employee meeting, but the court noted this was inconsistent with her husband’s earlier claim that she skipped the hearing due to a medical condition.

Discaya’s motion for reconsideration was filed before the Senate also on September 18.

In his petition filed with the Pasay City court, Discaya described his detention as a violation of Section 1, Article II of the Constitution, which guarantees that no person shall be deprived of liberty without due process of the law.

However, the court noted that Senate blue ribbon committee chair Panfilo Lacson gave Discaya due process by directing him to explain why he should not be cited in contempt.

“In the present case, all three constitutional safeguards are satisfied,” the decision penned by Presiding Judge August Tan read.

Contempt ‘must not be weaponized’

Despite upholding the contempt citation, the court did describe Discaya’s detention as a “serious deprivation of liberty.”

The decision said legislative contempt “must not be weaponized as an instrument of indefinite punitive detention,” and that the Senate blue ribbon committee should promptly act on Discaya’s motion for reconsideration.

The Supreme Court in 2018 ruled that the Senate has no power to impose the indefinite detention of a person cited in contempt during its inquiries, saying that the detention period should end upon the termination of a legislative inquiry. (READ: SC limits Senate detention period for persons cited in contempt)

The Senate blue ribbon panel has yet to wrap up its marathon hearings on anomalous flood control projects, but Lacson did note that they have already crafted a draft committee report with partial findings. The latest draft recommended preliminary investigations into three senators: Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva, and Chiz Escudero.

Lacson earlier said the committee may end its flood control probe after one or two more hearings.

Meanwhile, Sarah is currently detained at the Lapu-Lapu City Jail in Cebu to face a malversation case over a P96.5-million “ghost” project in Davao Occidental. – Rappler.com