President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to immediately arrest Sara Discaya and others once warrants are issued, after the Office of the Ombudsman found sufficient grounds to charge them over a P100-million “ghost” flood control project in Davao Occidental.
In a video report Friday, Dec. 5, Marcos said the Ombudsman confirmed that the 2022 flood-control project in Kulaman, Jose Abad Santos, “was never started.”
He specifically named Discaya and Maria Roma Angeline Remando as among the respondents facing charges of malversation through falsification and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“I have directed DILG and the PNP to ensure that they know the whereabouts of Discaya at nung iba pa para paglabas ng arrest warrant ay maaresto na sila kaagad,” the President said.
“Mabigat ito dahil hindi nila mababayaran ang kanilang paglaya. Pag naisampa na ang mga kasong ito sa korte, ang susunod na hakbang ng judiciary ay ang paglabas ng arrest warrant para sa mga pinangalanang indibidwal,” he added.
Marcos stressed that the case represents only the “beginning” of a long series of prosecutions in the widening flood control corruption scandal, vowing that more arrests will follow. “Umpisa pa lang ito. Marami pa tayong ipapakulong at marami pang magpapasko sa kulungan,” he said. (Argyll Geducos)
