Pretrial vs contractor Sarah Discaya, DPWH XI officials postponed
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The Lapu-Lapu City Regional Trial Court has postponed the pretrial conference for contractor Sarah Discaya and several Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region XI officials facing graft and malversation charges over an alleged ghost flood control project in Davao Occidental.
In an order issued after hearing both the defense and prosecution, the court reset the pretrial conference to 27 February 2026, at 2 p.m., citing unfinished pre-marking of the prosecution’s voluminous documentary evidence.
Atty. Joseph Randi Torregosa, counsel for retired DPWH Region XI district engineer Rodrigo Larete, moved for the suspension of Tuesday’s pretrial, saying the marking of documents was not completed during the Jan. 27 setting due to the sheer volume of records presented by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Jess Dela Peña of the Ombudsman-Visayas told the court that the prosecution has around 4,000 pages of documents contained in three pieces of luggage, adding that only about half had been pre-marked so far.
The court allowed both parties to continue presenting documents and complete the pre-marking process in five settings, starting this afternoon until 13 February 2026. Parties were also directed to submit their respective pretrial briefs on 26 February.
The court also granted the accused’s motion to attend proceedings through video conferencing from jail facilities, citing a new Supreme Court administrative matter that will take effect on 16 February. Presiding Judge Nelson Leyco clarified, however, that physical appearance may still be required in certain instances, such as witness identification and compliance with specific court orders.
Meanwhile, the court denied the motion of accused Angela Rimando seeking a joint ocular inspection of the alleged ghost flood control project. Hearings on the accused’s motions for bail will be scheduled after the completion of pretrial.
The court also took cognizance of the Ombudsman-Visayas assuming prosecution of the case after the Ombudsman-Mindanao withdrew from handling it.
