Cezarah Rowena "Sarah" Cruz Discaya (born November 10, 1976) is a Filipino businesswoman and politician. She is associated with the construction firm St. Gerrard Construction Corporation, which was labeled as among the top contractors for various flood control projects during the Rodrigo Duterte and Bongbong Marcos administrations.
Sarah Discaya was born on November 10, 1976, in London, United Kingdom. Her parents are both Overseas Filipino Workers;[1][2][3] her mother worked as a chambermaid while her father was a waiter at a diner.[4]
A Vera Files column claims that Discaya was born out of wedlock to a British father. The "Cruz" in Sarah Discaya's name was her Filipino stepfather's surname. The same column claim Liza is a maternal half-sister.[5][6]
Discaya accomplished her primary and secondary education in London then moved to the Philippines to pursue tertiary education. She pursued a business administration degree at the La Consolacion College[which?] for two years before earning her degree at the Pasig Catholic College.[4] She later worked as a dental clinic receptionist and as a nurse.[7]
Business career
Sarah Discaya along with her husband Pacifico "Curlee" Discaya are noted for their involvement in the construction industry.[8]
Discaya owns or had owned the following companies:[9][10]
Alpha and Omega Construction Gen. Contractor and Development Corporation
St. Timothy Construction
St. Gerrard Construction General Contractor and Development Corporation
Elite General Contractor and Development Corporation
St. Matthew General Contractor & Development Corporation
Great Pacific Builders and General Contractor
YPR General Contractor and Construction Supply
Amethyst Horizon Builders and General Contractor & Dev’t Corp.
Way Maker OPC
St. Gerrard Construction Corporation, is a construction firm founded in 2003 and named after their eldest son.[11] The company was awarded several large-scale infrastructure projects during the Duterte administration and became one of the most prominent contractors of the period.[8]
Apart from construction, Discaya has served as a local director for the Pasig branch of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant franchise since 2024. The organization's president, Shamcey Supsup, unsuccessfully ran for councilor of Pasig under Discaya's slate in the 2025 elections.[13]
However, in October 2024, Discaya formally filed her COC for the 2025 Pasig mayoral election under the Unyon ng mga Gabay ng Bayan (UGB) party.[15][16] Discaya stated that she was "provoked" by incumbent mayor Vico Sotto to run for mayor, alleging that her family had been subjected to defamation since Sotto became mayor in 2019. She further claimed that Sotto had hindered the operations of her business and attacked her family as a means of discrediting the Eusebio political clan.[15]
In response, Sotto claimed that St. Gerrard Construction Corporation had funded a social media misinformation campaign against his administration[15]. He also raised a potential conflict of interest, noting that Discaya's company, St. Timothy, had entered into an agreement with the Commission on Elections for the 2025 midterm elections.[17] Although St. Timothy later withdrew from the agreement, Discaya claimed that she had divested her shares in the company back in 2018.[10]
During the election campaign, Discaya promised a "government with a heart" and to transform Pasig into a "smart city".[18] Despite her heavily financed campaign, she lost by a wide margin, garnering only 29,591 votes against Sotto's 351,392.[8]
Her campaign was marked by various controversies linked to blacklisting issues tied to her company and a heavy reliance on paid vloggers for campaign promotion.[8][19] Discaya's possession of a British passport raised questions about her eligibility to run for office. Her legal counsel maintained, however, that she was qualified as a dual citizen by birth and had not subsequently acquired British citizenship.[20][2]
Shortly after the flood control projects controversy arose in August 2025, Pasig mayor Vico Sotto brought attention to various interviews that Sarah Discaya and her husband had with journalists Julius Babao and Korina Sanchez featuring the Discayas' "rags to riches" story released prior to March 28, 2025, the start of the official campaign period for the 2025 elections.[21][22][23] Sotto alleged that the Discayas paid for the interview, which raised several discussion online on journalism ethics on social media.[21]
Personal life
Discaya is married to Pacifico "Curlee" Discaya II.[24] They have three sons and a daughter.[25]
The couple has claimed to have a collection of 40 luxury vehicles, which was featured in Julius Babao's controversial interview.[24] The Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced on August 28, 2025 that it would launch an investigation into the collection to determine if appropriate fees were paid.[26][27][28]
A September 2025 Vera Files column claims that Discaya is the niece of former Pasig Mayor Vicente Eusebio, whose family administered the city from 1992 to 2019, as her mother is Eusebio's half-sister. In turn, Discaya is also allegedly the first cousin of former Pasig Mayor Robert Eusebio and former Pasig Representative Richard Eusebio.[5][6] Discaya has dismissed allegations of her family being related to the Eusebios before stating that it is a tactic by political opponents.[29]
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