Two Facebook posts and a website are claiming that police arrested contractor Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya in connection with the multibillion-peso anomalous flood control projects. This is false.
National Bureau of Investigation acting Director Lito Magno confirmed the voluntary surrender of Discaya at the agency’s headquarters in Pasay City on Dec. 9, even before any arrest warrant was issued against her.
Published on an FB page on Nov. 27, the post featured a photo collage of Discaya and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, with two pictures allegedly showing the former’s supposed arrest. Its caption claimed:
“Sarah Discaya, DINAMPOT na ng KAPULISAN sa PAMAMAHAY nito, nagdulot ng gulat sa buong bansa! Hindi makapaniwala ang mga kapitbahay sa nakita, at agad na kumalat ang balita sa social media. Tito Sotto, na nalaman ang kaganapan, ay NAGBUNYI sa kabila ng kontrobersiya! BBM at Bato, may kani-kaniyang reaksyon na nagpalala sa tensyon. Ano nga ba ang tunay na nangyari sa bahay ni Sarah? Basahin ang buong kwento sa link sa comment!
(Sarah Discaya was arrested by the police in her home, causing shock across the entire country! Neighbors could not believe what they saw, and the news quickly spread on social media. Tito Sotto, upon learning of the incident, celebrated despite the controversy! BBM and Bato each had their own reactions, further escalating the tension. What really happened at Sarah’s house? Read the full story at the link in the comments!)”
A Dec. 1 post carried a similar photo collage including Marcos and Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, along with a superimposed text that read: “Actual video! Discaya Arestado na! (Discaya was arrested!)”
A reverse image search of both photo collages showed no credible sources confirming that Discaya has been arrested. The results merely yielded other YouTube videos carrying the false claims, which were posted in September, three months before Discaya surrendered to the NBI.
“She appeared in the morning and asked to be placed under our jurisdiction without delay,” Magno was quoted as saying in local media reports.
According to Discaya’s lawyer, Cornelio Samaniego, the surrender of the controversial public works contractor was a “strategic legal move” and not an admission of wrongdoing.
Marcos earlier said that an arrest warrant was expected to be issued against Discaya over anomalous flood control projects. As of Dec. 16, Discaya remains at the premises of the NBI pending the issuance of a warrant of arrest, Magno said.
The Ombudsman has filed graft and malversation charges against Discaya and eight regional officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways over an alleged P96.5-million ghost infrastructure project in Davao Occidental.
Published by FB pages Radiant Fame World (created on Nov. 22, 2024 and managed by people from Vietnam) and Alvie’s reelife (Feb. 23, 2019), and website newsjer.com, the posts with untrue claim have so far collectively garnered 1,995 interactions.
