A clickbait headline and thumbnail claimed that bundles of cash were found when authorities raided the compound owned by contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya. This is not true.
On Sept. 5, a Facebook page uploaded a video thumbnail showing side-by-side images of Sarah Discaya and bundles of money supposedly confiscated by authorities. A red circle highlighted what is claimed to be cash.
The thumbnail also bore the text:
“BAHAY PUNO NG PE.RA (sic) ! COMPOUND SINALAKAY (HOUSE FULL OF MONEY! COMPOUND RAIDED)!”
The post’s caption also read:
“Nabuking Na! Mga Discaya May BODEGA Puno Ng Pe.ra (sic) ? Kasya Sa 10 Truck. Bis tado (sic) Na! Inamin na Lahat (Revealed! The Discayas have a compound full of money? Can fit in 10 trucks. Exposed! Confessed everything).”
Netizens are further encouraged to visit the attached link, which leads to a website filled with advertisements. Embedded in the webpage is a YouTube video with the same clickbait thumbnail and a similar headline.
These posts are false and mere clickbait. No such bundles of money were found inside the Discaya-raided compound.
The Bureau of Customs did execute a search warrant at the Pasig City compound of St. Gerrard Construction owned by the Discayas. However, the warrant was specifically for the couple’s luxury vehicles. There are no reports of any cash bundles retrieved.
The image in the thumbnail actually shows reams of smuggled cigarettes confiscated in Palawan last year. The photo was given incorrect context to fool netizens.
The attached YouTube video only contained clips from a News5 Frontline Express report on the raid and scenes from the Sept. 1 Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing attended by Sarah Discaya.
VERA Files has debunked other pieces of disinformation related to Sarah Discaya, who ran for Pasig City mayor but lost to Vico Sotto.
The Discayas have been the center of controversy in the alleged corruption in flood control projects. The false posts circulated three days after the raid, which was done as part of the BOC’s investigation into the Discaya’s luxury car collections.
The clickbait post by the FB page Duterte Active Supporters (created on Nov. 14, 2017) garnered 812 reactions, 381 comments and 336 shares. The video with false headline and thumbnail uploaded by the YouTube channel MargaStoryTV (created on Feb. 12, 2023) garnered 268,320 views.
