MANILA, Philippines – Mayoral hopeful Sarah Discaya of Pasig, who is voting for the first time, dismissed a widely shared post alleging she was campaigning to recoup election costs as something not originating from her team.
Following her voting at Bambang Elementary School, Discaya fielded queries from journalists concerning the Facebook post circulated by her young supporters that gained traction across social media platforms over the past weekend.
"So you understand, I didn't post those kinds of things myself. This is just malicious gossip. Someone must have done it on my behalf," she stated during a surprise interview.
The posting in question was shared by the Facebook page "Kabataan Para Kay Ate Sarah" on May 9. It included the official logo and format used by Discaya’s coalition “Kaya This,” along with some content. statement that read:
Bakit tumakbo si Ate Sarah? Ayaw mo bang ihayag na bubayaran natin ang nawasap niya? Oo, susundin namin iyon subalit Hindi ganyan yung paborito nitong gawin.
(What is Ate Sarah rushing for? Could it be because she aims to reclaim her expenses? Indeed, we shall recuperate them, yet not as some may presume.)
Discaya clarified that gifts should not be returned. "Kapag ibinigay ninyo ang regalo, hihingi pa rin kayo ng pagbabalik? (When you give a gift, do you still ask for it back?)" she questioned.
She added that she and her family feel abundantly grateful for their good health, which means everything to them.
“Okay na ako doon. Hindi naman ako greedy kasi nobody knows my personality (I’m already satisfied with that. I’m not greedy because nobody knows my personality),” Discaya said.
“So ‘yung babawiin (taking back) is not in my vocabulary,” she added.
When Discaya was told that the post came from a group actively campaigning for her, she clarified that she doesn’t always agree or align with everything her supporters post.
“Ah, okay, it was campaigning for me. Pero you see, I don't always — ano ‘yun — sumasang-ayon sa lahat ng mga posts kasi hindi ko naman alam ‘yung post na yan. Ever since na ako eh nag-run for a position, I stopped using my social media,” she said.
(But you see, I don't always agree with all the posts because I'm not familiar with that particular post. Ever since I started running for a position, I stopped using my social media.)
Discaya is running to challenge incumbent Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto’s bid for a third and final term.
A first-time voter and politician, she decided to run after Sotto revealed investigations into St. Gerrard Construction, her family’s firm, over cases of fraud, misrepresentation, use of dummies and contract anomalies.
The incumbent mayor also publicly disclosed that St. Timothy Construction — a company initially involved in financing Miru Systems for the new automated counting machines in this election — had links to the Discaya family. Comelec later decided the company would no longer fund the voting machines.
The competition between Discaya and Sotto existed before the campaign started, yet it intensified as the election season moved forward, following claims Those who supported Discaya’s vlogs were involved in a smear campaign against Sotto.