Vico warns village officials who count on protector in COA
Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto has issued a stern warning to barangay officials in the city engaged in corrupt practices.
“Enough is enough!,” Sotto said in his seventh State of the City Address on Monday.
The mayor slammed in particular village leaders who he said were bragging that they had a financier or supposed protector in the Commission on Audit (COA).
“Don’t tell me that you’re close to COA Commissioner Lipana,” he said, referring to Mario Lipana whose name has been linked to alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
Lipana, who has served as COA commissioner since 2022, is under fire for alleged conflict of interest. Congressional hearings have revealed that his wife, Marilou Laurio Lipana, is an active contractor whose firm got nearly P200 million worth of flood control projects from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The Office of the Ombudsman has confirmed that it is conducting an investigation into Lipana.
Lipana has been on official leave since Aug. 1, and has extended his absence until Oct. 30 supposedly for medical treatment abroad for an undisclosed illness.
In his speech, Sotto vowed that corrupt practices in the Pasig City government will not be tolerated.
‘Do what is right’
“We will stand up for what is right in the city of Pasig,” he declared.
“Since 2019, we have fought for better governance; we have focused on the city government. I must admit we have not focused much on our barangays. But now, we can take a better look at the barangay government,” the mayor added.
“I am not blaming everyone… but let’s not kid ourselves. Many of our barangay officials, we know what they’re up to,” he stressed.
To underline his resolve, Sotto said administrative cases have already been filed against a number of barangay officials, while criminal cases are currently being prepared.
Sotto doubled down on the warning on his official Facebook page, posting a segment of his speech and repeating “Enough is enough!” in the caption.
Igniting public outrage
The Pasig mayor had helped ignite public outrage over massive corruption in public infrastructure projects when he called out the media coverage given to the contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, whose companies were among the Top 15 firms President Marcos had bared in August as having cornered the bulk of flood control projects.
The government has since then seized the Discayas’ fleet of high-end vehicles, revoked the licenses of nine of their firms, and filed criminal charges against the couple for alleged tax liabilities amounting to over P7.1 billion.
Sarah Discaya ran for Pasig City mayor against Sotto in the May 2025 elections, but lost by a landslide.
