Comelec urged to probe Discaya’s Pasig bid

PASIG CITY Mayor Victor “Vico” N. Sotto on Thursday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to investigate his 2025 mayoral rival, Cezarah Rowena C. Discaya, for allegedly hiding the true cost of her campaign.

In a nine-page complaint-affidavit, Mr. Sotto accused Ms. Discaya of election overspending and perjury, claiming her official expenditure report was “false in a material respect.”

The mayor pointed out a glaring gap between the candidate’s lavish campaign, which featured massive billboards, celebrity-studded rallies, and professional digital ads, and the modest P895,000 she declared in her Statement of Contributions and Expenditures.

“Respondent made no declaration as to the digital advertisement purportedly paid by her,” Mr. Sotto wrote in the complaint, adding that her report failed to account for a single centavo in billboard rentals or high-production events.

Cornelio F. Samaniego III, legal counsel of Ms. Discaya did not immediately reply to a Viber chat seeking comment.

Based on official voter counts, Ms. Discaya’s spending was legally capped at roughly P1.39 million, a limit Mr. Sotto believes was easily shattered by her high-visibility operations across the city.

The complaint alleges that by submitting a deficient report under oath, the respondent not only skirted spending limits but also committed perjury under the Revised Penal Code.

Mr. Sotto secured a landslide victory against Ms. Discaya, who is currently under investigation in connection with anomalous multibillion-peso flood control projects. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking