PNP urges co-accused of Sarah Discaya to surrender; tracker teams begin hunt
Sarah Discaya (Courtesy of Philippine National Police)
The Philippine National Police (PNP) called on all co-accused of contractor Sarah Discaya in the alleged ghost flood control project in Davao Occidental to surrender and avoid the risks of evading law enforcement.
Acting PNP Chief, Police Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr., said police trackers teams were mobilized to begin the manhunt against nine others facing graft and malversation charges filed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
The case involves a P96.5-million flood control project in Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental, which was fully paid for but never constructed.
“Our units and tracker teams have already started operations to serve the arrest warrants. With our preparations and coordination with other agencies, we are confident of locating and accounting for all respondents as soon as possible,” Nartatez said.
He added that the PNP is working closely with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to serve arrest warrants issued by the local court.
Discaya voluntarily surrendered to the NBI before the warrant was issued while another accused, Maria Roma Rimando, was arrested by police.
He urged the remaining accused to follow Discaya’s example and surrender peacefully.
“We are giving all the other co-accused of Ms Sarah Discaya the opportunity to follow what she did by peacefully surrendering,” Nartatez said.
“Nothing will be gained by hiding. You will be caught eventually,” he added.
Nartatez also appealed to friends, relatives, and the public not to provide any assistance to the accused. He warned that doing so may lead to legal consequences.
“We appeal to their friends, relatives and other people to refrain from providing any form of assistance to any of them in order to avoid legal troubles,” he said.