DEFENSE lawyers for controversial contractor Sarah Discaya and nine co-accused have challenged the prosecution’s claim that a P96.5-million flood control project is a ghost project, arguing that the structure exists but may have been built partly outside its intended location.
This argument emerged as the trial opened at Regional Trial Court Branch (RTC) Branch 27, presided over by Judge Nelson Leyco at the Lapu-Lapu City Hall of Justice, where the Office of the Ombudsman presented its first witnesses. The trial is being held at RTC Branch 27 because it was designated by the Supreme Court as a special anti-graft court for such cases.
Jess Vincent Dela Peña, officer-in-charge for preliminary investigation at the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas, led the prosecution panel, which presented three witnesses specializing in design, construction and project quality.
Site inspection
During cross-examination on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, a prosecution witness from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Central Office Quality Assurance Unit testified that an infrastructure project was present during an inspection on Oct. 25, 2025, but was incomplete.
The witness cited discrepancies between the project’s actual coordinates and those indicated in official plans and documents. He said portions of the riverbank project were partly completed, while other sections on land were undergoing repairs during their single visit to the site.
The case stems from allegations that Discaya, St. Timothy Construction president Roma Rimando and eight DPWH officials in Davao Occidental were involved in a ghost flood control project. The 10 individuals face charges of malversation of public funds and violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The witness also testified that during the site inspection, where co-accused Project Engineer Harold John Villaver accompanied the investigation team, the coordinates differed from those in the detailed engineering design, as-built plan and at-stake plan.
Physical existence
Defense counsel Joseph Randi Torregosa, lawyer for former DPWH 11 district engineer Rodrigo Larete, argued that a project cannot be classified as a ghost project if it physically exists.
“Physically the project is there existing, although at the time of the inspection it was still ongoing,” Torregosa said in an interview. “I think that’s the most important fact that was established by the testimony of the witness. It’s not a ghost project.”
The two-kilometer flood control project was scheduled for implementation from Jan. 13, 2022, to Nov. 14, 2023. While it was reportedly completed on Oct. 2, 2022, it later required repairs because of damage caused by typhoons and heavy rainfall.
Alignment issue
Torregosa said the issue raised by the prosecution concerns only a portion of the structure, particularly a discrepancy from the designated starting point. According to the defense, the prosecution alleges that part of the project was constructed along a section of the Culaman River in Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental that does not fully align with the approved plans.
The prosecution witness also pointed to other discrepancies, including variations in stone sizes and splicing of rebars.
“There was only a question, a gap, of 400 meters that refers to the point of beginning where the concrete revetment was supposed to begin. That’s the only issue there,” Torregosa said.
All of the accused, except for Villaver who appeared in court in person, attended via video conferencing while detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City. / DPC