Sarah Discaya pleads not guilty to graft, malversation charges
Contractor Sarah Discaya pleaded not guilty during her arraignment on Tuesday, Jan. 13, in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
Discaya, the owner of St. Timothy Construction, is one of nine others charged with graft and malversation of public funds through falsification of commercial documents related to the alleged P96.5-million ghost flood control project in Davao Occidental.
According to a report by The Philippine STAR, also pleading not guilty were St. Timothy Construction president Maria Roma Rimando and eight officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways Davao Occidental District Engineering Office. The DPWH officials are Michael Awa, Jafael Faunillian, Ranulfo Flores, Rodrigo Larete, Joel Lumogdang, Czar Ryan Ubungen, Josephine Valdez, and John Villaver.
The accused made their pleas during their first court appearance at the Regional Trial Court Branch 27 before Judge Nelson Leyco.
Defendants' motions
Prior to the arraignment, they participated in an online conference on Jan. 5 to present their motion to dismiss the charges. The accused said the Supreme Court Office of the Court Administrator Circular No. 328-2025, which ordered the transfer of their case to a regional trial court outside the judicial region where they hold office, is not applicable to their case.
During the court proceedings, Leyco denied the defense team's motions, ordering the trial to remain with RTC Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu.
According to legal counsels for Discaya and the eight DPWH officials, however, they only received the order denying their motions on the same day of the arraignment.
Joseph Randi Torregosa, one of the defense's legal counsels, said in an interview that they believe the case is not under the jurisdiction of the court in Lapu-Lapu City.
"We will be moving forward without abandoning our remedies, and even the court agreed with us," Torregosa said, adding his team is set to file a motion for reconsideration.
During the court proceedings, Leyco denied the defendants' motions, ordering the trial to remain with RTC Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu.
On the other hand, Cornelio Samaniego, Rimando's legal counsel, did not file a motion to defer the arraignment. Instead, he verbally petitioned for bail. He also presented a motion to conduct an ocular inspection of the supposedly fake flood control project in Davao, which, according to his client, exists.
"We might as well have an ocular inspection so we can see. Because we are wasting time here when the project is actually there," Samaniego said, adding that all expenses of the ocular visit will be shouldered by St. Timothy Construction.
Torregosa and the legal teams of the rest of the defendants will be filing their own petitions for bail.
In addition to the charges, the court also ordered a preventive 90-day suspension of seven of the eight DPWH officials in relation to their alleged violation of RA 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Lumogdang, who retired in 2025, was excluded from the ruling.
The defendants' pre-trial is set for Feb. 3 at 10 a.m.
