Detained contractor Sarah Discaya and nine co-accused on Tuesday entered not guilty pleas to graft and malversation charges over the alleged P96.5-million “ghost” flood control project in Davao Occidental.
During their arraignment before Regional Trial Court Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Discaya, St. Timothy Construction Corp. executive Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando, and eight officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) denied the charges before Presiding Judge Nelson Leyco.
The accused initially asked the court to defer the arraignment, saying they received only earlier in the day the resolution denying their motion to quash the case.
“We ask for more time to study other possible options,” said lawyer Paul Sato, counsel for the DPWH officials.
However, the court stressed that the defense may still pursue available legal remedies despite the conduct of the arraignment.
The defense teams said they were considering filing a petition for certiorari and a motion for reconsideration, particularly on their challenge to the court’s jurisdiction over the case.
Rimando’s lawyer, Cornelio Samaniego III, also sought a joint ocular inspection of the Davao Occidental project to prove that it exists, offering that his client would shoulder all related expenses if approved.
“The project was there, it was erected, it was built. So there is no ghost project as alleged in the criminal information. It would be better to conduct an ocular inspection so we can see it, because we are just wasting time here if the project is really there,” Samaniego said.
Meanwhile, Leyco ordered the 90-day suspension of the DPWH officials, except for one who claimed to be retired.
The court set the pre-trial hearing on Feb. 3 at 10 a.m.
