Sarah Discaya, 8 DPWH Davao Occ execs to be charged over P96.5-M flood control project

Malversation and graft charges will be filed against contractors Cezarah Discaya and Maria Roma Angeline Rimando of St. Timothy Construction as well as Department of Public Works and Highways-Davao Occidental officials over a P96.5-million ghost flood control project in the province, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said Friday. 

“After a thorough investigation, reviewing voluminous documents, conducting field verification, and evaluating sworn statements from community witnesses. The Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to file criminal charges in connection with an alleged P96.5 million ghost infrastructure project in Davao, Occidental," Clavano said.

"Criminal information will be filed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Digos City, Davao del Sur against several officials of DPWH Davao Occidental DEO (District Engineering Office) and private individuals...[the] owners of St. Timothy Construction,” he added.

Clavano later told reporters that the malversation and graft cases were filed against the respondents above around 2:15 p.m. at the Digos City RTC.

He said the prosecution recommended no bail for the malversation charge. 

"This means that if and when warrants of arrest are out from the court, the respondents would have to be detained pending trial. As in the first case, the Office of the Ombudsman assures the Filipino people that we will pursue this matter firmly, independently, and without fear or favor,"  Clavano further said.

Aside from Discaya and Rimando, also recommended to be charged are:

• Rodrigo Larete
• Michael Awa
• Joel Lumogdang
• Harold John Villaver
• Jafael Faunillian
• Josephine Valdez
• Ranulfo Flores and
• Czar Ryan Ubungen

“Based on official inspection and witnesses’ accounts, the project was never implemented, had no actual construction, and yet respondents certified that the project was completed,” Clavano said.

He added that the eight DPWH Davao Occidental officials have also been placed under preventive suspension for six months for grave misconduct and grave dishonesty.

“The suspension order was served yesterday,” he said.

“They (DPWH officials) are found to have falsified accomplishment reports, issued fraudulent billing documents, and endorsed disbursement vouchers that triggered the release of the entire project cost. This was confirmed during an on-ground inspection conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the PNP (Philippine National Police) which found that works were only started after the flood control issue had gone public,” Clavano added.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, when he filed the malversation and graft complaint in October, described the P96.5-million flood control project as “a clear ghost project.” 

Marcos' order

In a video message Friday, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr said he has ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government to ensure that they know the whereabouts of Discaya and others that will be charged.

"I have directed DILG and the PNP to ensure that they know the whereabouts of Discaya at nung iba pa para paglabas ng arrest warrant ay maaresto na sila kaagad (and other individuals involved so they will be arrested after the issuance of the warrants of arrest)," he said.

"Ang malversation ay non bailable. Mabigat ito dahil hindi nila mababayaran ang kanilang paglaya. Pag naisampa na ang mga kasong ito sa korte, ang susunod na hakbang ng judiciary ay ang paglabas ng arrest warrant para sa mga pinangalanang indibidwal," said Marcos.

(Malversation is non-bailable. This is huge because they cannot pay for their liberty. Once filed to the court, the next step for the judiciary is to issue arrest warrants against the respondents.)

He said the investigation of the anti-graft body stemmed from a complaint of the  Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on a flood control project in Barangay Culaman in the Jose Abad Santos town.

An inspection conducted by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) found that the project, awarded to the Discaya firm in 2022, was never implemented contrary to the documents submitted.

"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.

(The Ombudsman found that the final billing, certificate of completion, and inspection reports they submitted were falsified and do not match with the project's current status.)

"Maging mga video at larawan na hinarap ng respondent ay walang time stamp at hindi ma-validate na tumutukoy sa proyektong ito," he said.

(Even the photos and videos the respondents submitted do not have time stamps and cannot be validated to be related to the project.

St. Timothy Construction Corporation is one of the construction firms owned by contractor couple Sara and Curlee Discaya, key figures in the ongoing flood control corruption scandal.

On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the revocation of its corporate registration along with the  St. Gerrard Construction General Contractor and Development Corporation for “submitting false beneficial ownership information.”

Second batch

The malversation and graft charges are the second batch of cases to be filed by the Ombudsman in relation to the flood control mess.

Clavano said that while the P96.5 million case does not involve public officials whose Salary Grade is 27 and above, the public can be rest assured that the Ombudsman will go after all those liable, regardless of their rank in the government.

“Public funds intended for community protection cannot be converted into private pain and greed. Every person who participated in this scheme will be held accountable. As I have stated before, this is only the beginning. There are multiple cases currently undergoing preliminary investigation and even more under active fact-finding,” he said.

“All investigations and filings will always depend on the evidence at hand. When there is enough evidence, we will file cases, strong cases. When there is a lack of evidence or the evidence is weak, we defer filing for further case build-up. [Because] we are not chasing headlines, we are seeking accountability,” he added.—with a report from Sundy Locus/AOL, GMA Integrated News