Mayor Vico Sotto filed a complaint before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against contractor Sarah Discaya for alleged overspending and perjury during the 2025 midterm elections.
Sotto personally lodged the complaint at Comelec’s Political Finance and Affairs Department, accompanied by his election lawyer, Atty. Romulo Macalintal. Sotto and Discaya were rivals in the last elections.
“I think it’s clear and blatant violations of election law. We want everyone in Pasig City to abide by the law,” Sotto told reporters.
The complaint accuses Discaya of violating the Omnibus Election Code and Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code, citing alleged untruthful declarations of campaign expenditures and false entries in her Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE).
According to the complaint, Discaya allegedly exceeded the maximum allowable campaign spending under Republic Act No. 7166. Candidates with a political party may spend P3 for every registered voter in their city or municipality, and P5 for those without a party.
With over 463,000 registered voters in Pasig during the 2025 elections, Discaya’s allowable campaign contributions should have been P1,391,655.
Sotto observed that Discaya’s campaign included large billboards, digital advertisements, and rallies featuring notable personalities, expenses that, he believes, exceeded the legal limit. He also noted that some digital ads appeared to have been paid directly by Discaya but were not reflected in her SOCE.
Based on her submitted SOCE, Discaya declared a total of P895,000 spent on stationery, printing, and distribution of campaign materials. Sotto said her statement omitted costs for digital advertisements, billboards, rallies, and related travel expenses, allegedly failing to provide a “full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures,” as required by law.
The complaint seeks to hold Discaya accountable for probable violations of campaign finance regulations and election laws.
