Contractor Sarah Discaya Says Spliced Video Twisted Her Statement on DPWH Projects
SARAH DISCAYA – Clarifying the controversy surrounding her viral interview, contractor Sarah Discaya said her words were taken out of context to fuel the perception that DPWH projects made her family rich.
Flood control contractor and former Pasig mayoral bet Sarah Discaya addressed on Monday the controversy surrounding her viral interview, saying it was edited in a way that misled the public into thinking her family’s fortune came exclusively from projects with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Discaya pointed out that her family has been in the construction industry for over 23 years, emphasizing that their financial success did not start with DPWH contracts. “I would presume na in the 23 years, pwede naman po siguro kami kumita,” she stated during a Senate inquiry on questionable flood control projects.
She explained that their firms first worked on projects funded by local government units before eventually joining DPWH bidding. Discaya clarified that her remarks about DPWH in the viral clip were taken out of context. “Ang hirap makasingil sa local government. They spliced the video that was taken of me and just mentioned the DPWH,” she said, stressing that her statement was misrepresented.
Discaya is associated with St. Gerrard and several other construction companies that have landed large-scale government contracts. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously revealed that 15 contractors, including those connected to Discaya, obtained P100 billion worth of projects, or 20 percent of the P545-billion budget for flood control.
Sharing her family’s background, she noted that her father also worked as a contractor for the local government. Before fully engaging in the construction business, Discaya herself had worked abroad as a dental receptionist and orthodontic nurse.
Sarah Discaya recalled that their companies started joining DPWH bids in 2012 and eventually secured projects beginning in 2016. “Nakita namin noon [sa] PhilGEPS na may mga projects na pwede palang mag-join. So we joined the bidding that we know we were qualified for,” she recounted.
To support her statements, Discaya told senators that she is ready to provide her accountant’s tax records, insisting that her family’s financial growth is the result of years of work in construction, not solely from DPWH contracts.
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