FACT CHECK: Sarah Discaya ‘confession’ on stealing public funds is a deepfake

Claim: Detained businesswoman and contractor Sarah Discaya admitted that she, along with other government officials, are stealing public funds meant for infrastructure projects.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The video was posted on June 17 by the Facebook page “ebodskz.tv,” which has a following of 23,000. As of writing, it has accumulated more than 10,000 views with more than 800 reactions and 435 shares. 

The video’s caption claims that Discaya’s arrest was “rushed” because of her knowledge of systemic anomalies in infrastructure projects and to prevent her from implicating more people in the corruption scandal.

The video shows Discaya at a Senate hearing, where she supposedly says, “Kawawa po talaga ang mga mamamayang Pilipino kasi ninakaw lang natin ang kaban ng bayan — pera ng taumbayan, pero tayo ang nakikinabang.”

(Filipino citizens are really pitiful because we are stealing public funds — the people’s money — but we are the ones who benefit.)

She also accuses high-profile individuals in government of being a part of a large-scale corruption scheme. 

“Kung tutuusin, hindi lang naman kaming mga contractor ang nakikinabang dito. Marami din sa inyo mga pulitiko ang nagpapataba ng bulsa sa pangungurakot,” Discaya says.

(If you think about it, it’s not just us contractors who benefit from this. Many politicians are stuffing their pockets from corruption.)

She adds, “Lahat tayo alam ang laro, pero ‘pag nahuhuli, kami lang ang tinuturo at pinarurusahan. Kaya huwag ninyong ipakita sa publiko na malinis kayo dahil sa bawat proyekto may kapalit na porsyento sa inyong mga opisina. Ang sistema mismo ang nagtutulak sa amin na sumunod. Kung hindi kami pumayag, hindi kami bibigyan ng proyekto.”

(We all know the game, but when someone is caught, only we [contractors] are implicated and punished. So don’t show the public that you are clean because for every project, a portion of the funds delivered in your offices. The system itself pushes us to comply. If we don’t agree, we won’t be given the project.)

Users were quick to agree with Discaya, urging her to drop names involved in the corruption scandal.

The facts: Results from Deepware using the detection model Seferbekov yields an 87% probability that the video is a deepfake. The video also does not show Discaya blinking throughout the clip, suggesting that it is not an authentic video.

Nowhere in all the Senate blue ribbon committee hearings attended by Discaya between September and November 2025 did she admit to pocketing public funds. While Discaya and her husband, Curlee, did make references to a system of corruption in flood control projects and even accused several lawmakers of demanding kickbacks, these did not match the statements attributed to her in the circulating video. 

Rappler has previously debunked a similar video that circulated last year amid the September Senate hearings. 

The video resurfaced as the Senate resumed its investigation into the flood control issue, led by the new blue ribbon committee chair Senator Erwin Tulfo. It also coincided with the hearing-turned-press briefing of former security aides of ex-congressman Zaldy Co, who levelled corruption allegations against the Marcos administration and critics of the Dutertes.  

Flood control corruption scandal: Discaya is currently detained after she was arrested last December over a P96-million ghost project in Davao Occidental. On June 4, the Ombudsman filed criminal charges against the Discaya couple over an allegedly anomalous flood control project in Calumpit, Bulacan.

Investigations over the anomalous ghost projects are still ongoing. In May, the Sandiganbayan charged Senator Jinggoy Estrada, former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan, and other public works officials with plunder and graft. (READ: Jinggoy Estrada is back in jail after 9 years)

Other government officials linked to flood control cases are under precautionary hold departure orders, while others are already facing regular hold departure orders. (READ: LIST: Officials barred from leaving the Philippines over flood control cases) – Lourence Angelo Marcellana/Rappler.com