MANILA — Contractor Cezarah Rowena “Sarah” Discaya’s camp insisted her decision to surrender to the National Bureau of Investigation was a calculated legal maneuver aimed at confronting the charges against her head-on—not an acknowledgment of guilt in the alleged P96.5-million flood control anomaly in Davao Occidental.
Her lawyer, Atty. Cornelio Samaniego III, said in an interview with GMA’s Unang Balita that the surrender should not be misconstrued as accepting liability for the accusations tied to questionable government infrastructure projects.
“Hindi naman po admission of guilt kasi korte lang po ang magtatakda talaga ng guilt ng isang akusado o respondent sa isang kaso po,” Samaniego stressed, reiterating that only the court can determine wrongdoing.
He added that Discaya voluntarily submitted to authorities because she is prepared to defend herself before the Digos Regional Trial Court.
“Sumuko po siya dahil alam niya na malinis ang kanyang konsensya at kaya niyang harapin ang anumang legal na proseso patungkol dito sa kasong isinampa sa kanila dito sa Digos RTC,” he said.
Move long part of planned strategy
Samaniego revealed that the camp had foreseen legal trouble since the flood control controversy broke out and had discussed early on the possibility of pre-emptive surrender as part of their defense plan.
“Sa umpisa pa lang kasi noong sumabog itong issue na ito sa flood control project at mula noong nag-engage siya ng mga abogado niya, napag-usapan na namin ‘yan sa isa sa mga legal strategies namin,” he said.
“Na kung sakaling may sumampang kaso, hindi na namin pa aantayin na ilabas pa ang warrant of arrest kaya iyan ang pinili po niya na legal strategy para sumuko, voluntary sumuko siya sa awtoridad.”
He also disclosed that Discaya had been receiving unwanted text messages and suspicious calls, though she made no move to respond to them.
Surrender came after Marcos announcement
Discaya appeared before the NBI on Tuesday, just hours after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced that an arrest warrant for her was expected soon in connection with alleged irregularities in government flood control projects.
Discaya and her husband, Pacifico, are among individuals under scrutiny after their firm, Alpha and Omega General Contractor & Development Corporation, was identified as one of 15 companies that secured a large portion of flood control contracts cited by the President.
She is one of 10 individuals facing charges for alleged malversation of public funds and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act linked to the P96.5-million project in Barangay Culaman, Jose Abad Santos.
The Discayas earlier signaled willingness to cooperate as potential state witnesses, but the Office of the Ombudsman ruled this out due to their involvement in the purported scheme. They subsequently stopped communicating with the DOJ./PN
