Sarah Discaya bail OK’d in Davao Occ case, but...

Sarah Discaya. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A Lapu-Lapu City court has allowed public works contractor Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya to post bail of P1 million in a case over an alleged P96.5-million “ghost” flood control project in Davao Occidental.

Discaya, however, will remain in detention as she is also facing a separate nonbailable case involving another allegedly anomalous project, this time in Bulacan, where she and her husband, Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II, are among the accused.

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In a resolution dated July 7, presiding Judge Nelson Leyco said the prosecution had yet to present strong evidence of her active participation in the alleged conspiracy to defraud the government.

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READ: Raps filed vs Discayas, DPWH execs

The court also granted P300,000 bail to Czar Ryan Ubungen, finance section chief of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineering district in Davao Occidental.

But it denied the bail petitions of seven DPWH officials and St. Timothy Construction managing officer Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando, finding the evidence against them to be strong.

READ: Raps filed vs Discayas, DPWH execs

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Leyco said the prosecution had presented evidence indicating that no flood control project was built in 2022, as alleged, and that the project appeared to be a “ghost project.”

The court cited several irregularities, including a 400-meter discrepancy between the project’s approved starting point and the location of the existing structure; identical details between the detailed engineering design and the as-built plan that appeared to have been “copy-pasted”; and the contractor’s claim that 30.65 percent of the project was completed in just four days.

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Not enough proof

The resolution questioned claims that the project has merely been destroyed by floods, noting that portions of the structure appeared to have been newly built when inspected. This, it said, supported the prosecution’s theory that construction began only after the alleged anomaly was exposed.

Despite these findings, the court ruled that the evidence against Discaya was insufficient to deny her constitutional right to bail.

Leyco noted that no prosecution witness testified that Discaya directly participated in the bidding, preparation of project documents, issuance of the notice of award, or construction of the project.

Two former employees of St. Timothy Construction Corp. likewise testified that they had no personal knowledge linking Discaya to the alleged falsification of documents related to the supposed implementation of the project.

The court also cited Supreme Court jurisprudence holding that a corporate position or being a beneficial owner does not, by itself, establish criminal liability, absent proof of active participation in the alleged crime.

Construction empire

“At this point in time, the pieces of evidence highlighted by the prosecution are not yet enough to prove Discaya’s instrumental participation in committing the criminal act of falsifying the documents, or in conspiring with the other accused,” the resolution stated.

The Discayas were at the center of investigations into alleged corruption in multibillion-peso government flood control and infrastructure projects.

It was found that they owned nine construction firms, which had cornered more than P30 billion in government flood control contracts over a three-year period. The Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board revoked the licenses of these companies in September last year.

The flood control scandal erupted in July last year after President Marcos ordered an investigation into allegations of corruption.

Following the investigations led by the now-defunct Independent Commission for Infrastructure, charges have been filed, assets frozen and arrests of officials have been made, including that of Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada.

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Discaya’s husband, Curlee, has been turned over to the Bulacan Provincial Jail in Malolos City in June to face nonbailable graft and malversation charges in a local court there over the alleged P53.9-million ghost flood control project. His wife is also a coaccused in this case. He was previously detained for nine months at the Senate for contempt. —WITH A REPORT FROM FUTCH ANTHONY INSO, CEBU DAILY NEWS