Discaya case sent to Cebu RTC

THE Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday confirmed the transfer of the malversation and graft cases filed against contractor Cezarah “Sarah” C. Discaya from Davao Occidental to the Visayas region.

“The two criminal complaints against DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) engineers of Davao Occidental and Sarah Discaya were transferred to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Lapu-Lapu City,” SC spokesperson Camille Sue Mae L. Ting told reporters via Viber group chat.

She said the transfer to Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, was carried out in accordance with the Court’s guidelines, which provide that corruption-related cases arising from government infrastructure projects should be referred to the nearest designated anti-graft court in the closest judicial region.

Justice spokesperson Raphael Niccolo L. Martinez said the move was initiated by the courts following the Office of the Court Administrator’s (OCA) designation of special courts to hear cases linked to alleged flood control anomalies.

The development follows the Supreme Court en banc’s designation last month of 26 Regional Trial Courts as special anti-graft courts under Republic Act No. 10660, which expanded the jurisdiction of trial courts to include cases involving anti-graft laws.

Under the guidelines, the OCA is mandated to monitor the filing of corruption-related cases.

Ms. Discaya and eight other Public Works officials are charged in connection with an alleged P96.5-million ghost flood control project in Davao Occidental awarded in 2022, which investigators said was declared completed and paid despite the absence of actual construction. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking