Within the Marcos residence turf Ilocos Norte, the largest flood management contractors are the businesses of first-term Laoag Metropolis Mayor Bryan Alcid, and former Pasig mayoral candidate Sarah Discaya.
Information scraped from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s “Sumbong sa Pangulo” web site present that together with its joint ventures, Alcid’s Megapolitan Builders and Building Provide cornered a collective P1.8 billion in flood management contracts, or 18% of all flood management tasks within the province, from 2022 to 2025. These had been tasks awarded by the Division of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
4 Discaya-linked corporations are among the many high 10 Ilocos Norte flood contractors, however taken all collectively, they’ve collectively cornered P2.6 billion in flood management tasks.
Megapolitan and the Discaya-linked corporations had no joint ventures in Ilocos Norte.
The remainder of the P10-billion value flood contracts within the province from 2022 to 2025 had been unfold amongst 37 different contractors. Ilocos Norte is the tenth most flood-prone province within the Philippines, in response to the nation’s nationwide adaptation plan.
The governor of Ilocos Norte has been a Marcos since 1971 apart from 10 years from 1988 to 1998 in the course of the time period of Rodolfo “Rudy” Fariñas. Within the 2022 elections, the Marcoses ousted the Fariñases from the First District when Sandro Marcos received his first time period. Right this moment, it’s a Marcos domination — a Marcos as governor, vice governor, first district and second district representatives, full with Alcid as Laoag Metropolis mayor, whom the Marcoses endorsed.
Megapolitan of Mayor Bryan Alcid
Alcid received his first time period as Laoag Metropolis mayor within the Might 2025 midterm elections, edging out the President’s cousin, former mayor Michael Marcos Keon. Marcos Jr. and his household endorsed Alcid.
Battle of curiosity is outlined by not less than 4 authorized provisions — the 1987 Structure, the anti-graft regulation, the code of conduct for public officers, and the Native Authorities Code. However virtually all of them give a sure diploma of leeway.
For instance, Alcid was a metropolis councilor from 2022 to 2025, throughout which Megapolitan received not less than two DPWH flood mitigation contracts positioned in Laoag Metropolis. One is for a P9.7-million flood mitigation construction in Barangay Buttong, in response to information on sumbongsapangulo.ph. The opposite is a P47-million flood mitigation construction in Barangay Cavit, which we personally noticed in Might (photograph above) and which checks out with this contract on the DPWH web site.
Nevertheless, the Native Authorities Code solely requires members of the Sanggunian (council) to reveal their monetary curiosity which can end in battle of curiosity. Mayors, then again, together with Alcid now, “are prohibited from practising their occupation or partaking in any occupation apart from the train of their features as native chief executives,” in response to the code.
On June 4, 2025, when Alcid had already been elected as mayor however nonetheless had not formally taken workplace but, he signed as “licensed managing officer” for 2 multi-purpose buildings on the Batac campus of the Mariano Marcos State College (MMSU), value a mixed P52 million, in response to copies of the contracts.
Rappler has been attempting to succeed in Alcid since August 27 to ask him how he can guarantee there’s no battle of curiosity so far as Megapolitan’s contracts are involved. Our newest followup was Monday, September 1, by way of textual content and name, however we’ve not been capable of hear again from him. We had been capable of communicate with Laoag Metropolis’s data officer on August 28 and 29 to make sure our message had been relayed. We’ll replace this story with Alcid’s assertion as soon as we obtain it.
Alcid informed Rappler in the course of the Might 2025 midterms marketing campaign that he’s a “law-abiding citizen” who follows “safeguards.” The anti-graft regulation prohibits having enterprise pursuits in a contract that “he takes half [of] in his official capability.” Public officers who personal, or whose households personal, development corporations have reasoned that it’s not them — however the DPWH — who awarded the contracts.
“Wala naman akong mga kaso. Kahit tingnan ‘yung observe file ko. Wala pa akong kaso. Kahit ano,” Alcid informed Rappler in an interview on Might 6. (I’m a law-abiding citizen. There are not any fees towards me. Even in case you have a look at my observe file, I’ve no fees, not something.)
The Discayas
After Megapolitan, the businesses St. Matthew, St. Gerrard, Alpha & Omega, and St. Timothy additionally received huge flood contracts value a whole bunch of thousands and thousands pesos in Ilocos Norte.
The 4 corporations are both at present co-owned or beforehand co-owned by Sarah Discaya and household. Discaya ran for mayor of Pasig Metropolis within the Might 2025 midterm elections, however misplaced to third-termer Mayor Vico Sotto.
Collectively, the 4 corporations cornered P2.65 billion value of flood contracts in Ilocos Norte.
The Discayas are beneath scrutiny for exhibiting off their mansion and luxurious vehicles in interviews with media personalities, and even mentioned in a single vlog that their fortunes radically modified after they began having enterprise with the DPWH.
The Discayas’ son Matthew Carl Discaya owns 95% of St. Matthew, Sarah’s husband Pacifico II or “Curlee” owns 96% of St. Gerrard, and Sarah owns 96% of Alpha & Omega, in response to the 2024 common data sheets of the three corporations.
Sarah and Curlee had been shareholders of St. Timothy, not less than up till 2018, in response to that 12 months’s amended incorporation data. The Discaya couple mentioned they divested in 2018, and had no extra ties to it when St. Timothy initially partnered with South Korean agency Miru to offer the machines for the 2025 automated elections. St. Timothy ultimately withdrew from the three way partnership after controversies. St. Timothy is now owned on paper by Ma. Roma Angeline D. Rimando, who’s the Discayas’ niece.
Excluding St. Timothy’s contracts, the three corporations at present owned by the Discayas nonetheless cornered P1.5 billion value of flood contracts.
Sarah Discaya’s Alpha & Omega is the second greatest flood contractor in the whole nation, whereas St. Timothy is the third greatest. Marcos mentioned it was “disturbing” that 15 corporations — which embody Alpha & Omega — cornered 20% of the P545 billion value of flood management tasks within the nation within the final three years.
Sarah Discaya confronted the Senate on Monday, September 1, and mentioned “we’ve been within the development enterprise for 23 years, and I might presume that within the 23 years, puwede naman kami kumita (we will earn).”
Discaya mentioned their enterprise boomed after they began getting DWPH contracts, as in comparison with their earlier contracts with native governments as a result of, as she mentioned, “ang hirap makasingil sa native authorities (it’s laborious to gather from native governments).” – Rappler.com
