Sara Discaya brought to Lapu jail, awaits trial over multi-billion flood control scam

National

FROM a Davao Occidental project site to a Lapu-Lapu City jail cell, the corruption case against a private contractor has crossed regions.

Contractor Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya, who ran as a Pasig City mayoral candidate in the May elections, has transferred to the Lapu-Lapu City Jail to face graft and malversation charges over the alleged P96.5-million “ghost” flood control project in Davao Occidental.

Discaya arrived in Cebu on Friday evening, Dec. 19, under tight security and was brought directly to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City, the designated special anti-graft court that issued the arrest warrants against her and the other accused.

Presiding Judge Nelson G. Leyco signed and released the warrants on Dec. 18 for malversation of public funds or property through falsification.

The National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas (NBI 7) said the transfer followed the re-raffling of the cases from the Regional Trial Court in Digos City to RTC Branch 27, a move approved by the Supreme Court.

The Department of Justice earlier said the transfer was undertaken pursuant to Republic Act No. 10660, which expanded the jurisdiction of regional trial courts to handle graft cases.

NBI-7 regional director Atty. Rennan Agustus Oliva said Discaya and eight officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Davao Occidental District Engineering Office were presented before the court for the return of warrants and the issuance of commitment orders before being turned over to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Oliva said the agency’s mandate is to enforce court-issued warrants and ensure the proper turnover of the accused to the appropriate authorities, noting that security measures were in place during the transfer.

He added that after court proceedings and medical examinations at a public hospital, Discaya and the eight DPWH engineers were formally committed to the Lapu-Lapu City Jail early Saturday, December 20.

Oliva said Discaya and two other female accused were placed in the female dormitory, while the six male accused were housed in the male dormitory.

He emphasized that no special treatment was given, in accordance with instructions from the Department of Justice, adding that the detainees would be treated the same as other inmates.

According to Oliva, there were no special rooms for the accused, and they were included with all other detainees in Lapu-Lapu City Jail.

He said this followed a discussion with the head of BJMP-7 and the directive of Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida to treat them as ordinary criminals.

Discaya had earlier surrendered to the NBI central office in anticipation of the arrest warrant and was initially held at the NBI facility in Muntinlupa City.

She is the owner of St. Timothy Construction, the firm linked to the flood control project in Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental, which was reportedly funded with P96.5 million in public funds but was allegedly never implemented.

Company president Maria Roma Rimando was arrested separately by operatives of the Philippine National Police in Pasig City and later transferred for court commitment in Lapu-Lapu City.

Also charged in the case are DPWH officials Rodrigo Larete, Michael Awa, Joel Lumogdang, Harold John Villaver, Jafael Faunillian, Josephine Valdez, Ranulfo Flores, and Czar Ryan Ubungen.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed the cases after an investigation that included document reviews, site inspections, and sworn statements from community witnesses, which Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said established probable cause.

Malversation of public funds is a non-bailable offense.(MyTVCebu)