Discaya, 9 co-accused plead not guilty to malversation, graft raps

National

CONTROVERSIAL contractor Sarah Discaya and nine others in a P96.5-million “ghost” flood control project pleaded not guilty after appearing physically for the first time in a Lapu-Lapu City court on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

Aside from Discaya, Maria Roma Rimando, the president of the Discaya-owned St. Timothy Costruction, and eight Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Davao Occidental officials appeared before Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City and entered pleas of not guilty to graft and malversation charges.

The accused DPWH officials are Rodrigo Larete, Michael Awa, Joel Lumogdang, Harold John Villaver, Jafael Faunillian, Josephine Valdez, Ranulfo Flores, and Czar Ryan Ubungen.

The charges stem from a flood control project in Barangay Culaman, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental, which investigators allege was paid for with public funds despite being either partially completed or not implemented at all.

Prosecutors say that falsified documents made it appear that the project had been properly executed, leading to the wrongful disbursement of P96.5 million in government funds.

According to authorities, the accused are facing charges of malversation of public funds and violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for their involvement in the fraudulent project.

The arraignment took place after Judge Nelson Leyco of Lapu-Lapu City RTC Branch 27 rejected motions from the defense seeking to dismiss the case and challenge the court's jurisdiction.

The defense had argued that the trial should be conducted in Davao Occidental, where the alleged crime took place, but the court maintained its authority over the case.

In a previous motion, the defense contended that the case should not be handled by the Lapu-Lapu court, asserting that the case was improperly re-raffled to this venue.

Their argument referred to a provision in Republic Act No. 10660, which allows cases involving government officials with specific salary grades to be tried in judicial regions outside their area of service.

Despite this, the court denied the motion, and the case remained in Lapu-Lapu.

After the arraignment, the court scheduled a pre-trial conference for Feb. 3. This hearing will focus on setting the issues and reviewing evidence before the trial begins. The accused are expected to face serious legal challenges ahead.

The accused DPWH officials are currently under preventive suspension, a measure required under the Anti-Graft Law for public officers facing criminal charges.

However, lawyers for the officials said they would seek to challenge the suspension in a motion for reconsideration, arguing that the suspension is unnecessary since the DPWH had already imposed their own internal suspension.

The case was originally filed in the Digos City RTC before being transferred to the Malita RTC in Davao Occidental.

However, in a re-raffling process directed by the Supreme Court, the case was eventually reassigned to Lapu-Lapu City RTC Branch 27.

This was in accordance with Supreme Court guidance under Republic Act No. 10660, which allows certain cases involving government officials to be tried outside the jurisdiction where the accused holds office.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed the charges after thorough investigations, including document reviews, site inspections, and sworn statements from community witnesses.

The charges against Discaya, Rimando, and the DPWH officials are part of ongoing efforts to address alleged irregularities in government infrastructure projects.

While the accused have entered their not guilty pleas, their defense teams have vowed to continue challenging the court's jurisdiction.(MyTVCebu)

Write to New MyTV I.T.