Contractors Sarah Discaya, owner of St. Timothy Construction, and company president Maria Roma Rimando, along with eight officials of the DPWH Davao Occidental District Engineering Office, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, January 13, before Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City.
The accused DPWH officials are Rodrigo Larete, Michael Awa, Joel Lumogdang, Harold John Villaver, Jafael Faunillian, Josephine Valdez, Ranulfo Flores, and Czar Ryan Ubungen.
They face charges of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and malversation of public funds through falsification of commercial documents, linked to the alleged P96.5-million flood control project in Barangay Culaman, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental, which prosecutors claim does not exist.
Tuesday marked the accused’s first physical appearance before Presiding Judge Nelson Leyco.
Previously, on January 5, they had appeared via online conference to file a motion to quash the information, arguing that Supreme Court Office of the Court Administrator Circular No. 328-2025—which mandates transferring cases to RTCs outside the accused’s judicial region—does not apply to them.
Judge Leyco denied the motions during the arraignment, confirming that the trial will proceed in RTC Branch 27.
Before the hearing, legal counsels for Discaya and the DPWH officials requested a deferral, citing that they had only received the order denying their motions on the day of the arraignment.
Atty. Joseph Randi Torregosa, one of the counsels, said they intend to file a motion for reconsideration or a petition for certiorari, insisting that the court lacks jurisdiction over the case.
Meanwhile, Rimando’s counsel, Atty. Cornelio Samaniego, filed a petition for bail and a motion for an ocular inspection of the project site.
He said the flood control project was built and exists, and that an inspection would verify its presence.
St. Timothy Construction will cover the expenses for the inspection.
The court read the charges against all nine accused, who entered not guilty pleas.
Judge Leyco also imposed preventive suspension on seven DPWH officials, excluding Lumogdang, who retired last year.
Atty. Sato, representing the officials, called the suspension unnecessary, as the officials had already been preventively suspended by the DPWH, and said they would challenge the ruling through legal remedies.
The court set the pre-trial for February 3, 2026, with the preliminary conference scheduled a week earlier. (VCL)
Sarah Discaya, DPWH Officers Seek Dismissal of Charges
Contractor Sarah Discaya and eight officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Davao Occidental District Engineering Office...
