Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto disclosed on Tuesday, Sept. 9, that a common friend had texted him, relaying that contractor Curlee Discaya, husband of Sarah Discaya, was seeking to arrange a meeting with him last Thursday.
“As late as Thursday morning, meron pong nag-text sa akin na common friend na nakikipagset-set si Mr. Discaya ng meeting sa akin,” Sotto said during an ambush interview after he left the House Infrastructure Committee hearing on its probe of the alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
“S’yempre hindi ko papatulan ‘yung ganoon. Ba’t ako makikipag-usap sa kaniya, ngayon pa, diba?,” he added.
When asked if the invitation was really from the Discayas, the mayor said their common friend had no reason to lie, adding that this was probably why the invitation to meet was relayed through their common friend.
He said he had no idea why the Discayas wanted to meet him.
“Pero may nabanggit doon na ‘state witness,’ so siguro iniisip niya baka makatulong ako sa kaniya. Pero sa akin hindi. Dapat ilabas natin kung ano ang katotohanan. Tignan natin ‘yung buong statement ,” he explained.
He urged the public to listen to all speakers, not just Discaya, and emphasized that they should not allow themselves to be misled or confused.
Sotto questioned the legitimacy of Discaya’s testimony linking lawmakers to the flood control corruption scheme, saying he was not convinced that only 26 individuals were involved, given that the couple had hundreds of government contracts nationwide.
“Siguro sa listahan na ‘yun may totoo, may hindi totoo… hindi ko na alam. Again, ‘yun nga ‘yung point nun, para lituhin tayo. So again, hwag tayo pumayag,” he stated. (Richielyn Canlas)
