Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered authorities to closely track the location of contractor Sarah Discaya and others charged with corruption tied to flood control projects amid the looming arrest warrant.
“I have directed the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) and the PNP (Philippine National Police) to ensure that they know the whereabouts of Discaya at nung iba pa para paglabas ng arrest warrant ay maaresto na sila kaagad (so that when the arrest warrants are issued, they can be immediately arrested),” he said in a video.
The Ombudsman on Friday, Dec. 5, filed a non-bailable case of malversation of public funds and corruption charges against Discaya, St. Timothy Construction executive Maria Roma Angeline Rimando, and eight Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials before the Digos Regional Trial Court.
According to Marcos, the anti-graft body’s probe stemmed from a complaint of the DPWH on the P96.5 million flood control project in Barangay Culaman in the Jose Abad Santos town in Davao Occidental.
The PNP-Criminal Investigation Detection Group (CIDG) found that the project awarded to the Discaya firm in 2022 was never implemented.
“Natuklasan ng Ombudsman ‘’yung mga isinumiteng final billing, certificate of completion at inspection reports ay palsipikado o hindi tumutugma sa aktwal na kalagayan ng proyekto,” said Marcos.
[Translation: The Ombudsman discovered that the submitted final billing, certificate of completion and inspection reports were falsified or did not correspond to the actual status of the project.]
Marcos said that even photos and videos the respondents submitted do not have time stamps and cannot be validated as related to the project.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon earlier flagged the ‘ghost’ retaining wall after it was found to have been marked completed in October 2022 and fully paid in early 2023 despite remaining unfinished.
The project was awarded during the Duterte administration in 2021.
