Pasig mayoral bet Sarah Discaya to transform Pasig to smart city
Sarah Discaya meets several supporters in an event in Pasig City.
MANILA, Philippines – Sarah Discaya wants to transform Pasig City into a “smart city,” a metropolis that runs efficiently using modern technology to provide improved and better social services to Pasiguenos.
As someone who came from humble beginnings – her mother served for years as a chambermaid in a hotel in London, England, where her father also worked as a waiter, Discaya dreams big and promises to deliver on her campaign advocacies.
Discaya is running for the city’s mayoralty post under the campaign mantra, “Kaya ba? Kaya this!” to pursue her top 12 flagship programs, which is focused on putting up infrastructure facilities to improve the lives of her constituents.
A businesswoman by profession, Discaya is keen on using her entrepreneurial skills and expertise to upgrade local government services that Pasiguenos can avail.
First on Discaya’s bucket list is the construction of an 11-storey university building, a seven-storey high school building, and an up-to-date elementary building in the city to enhance the learning opportunities for the city’s youth.
She is also eyeing the construction of a modern hospital or health facility that can compete with the state-of-the-art services offered by private medical establishments.
She also vows to pursue vertical housing projects to address the housing backlog in the city, and put up an ultramodern transport terminal that will house the metropolis’ public transportation and make public commuting less difficult for passengers.
To address worsening traffic congestion, Discaya commits to establish a sensor-based traffic system, and provide vertical parking spaces for car owners.
She will likewise improve flood control management policy to mitigate the impact of floodings during the rainy season and reduce, if not totally stop, damage to life and property.
Improving the city’s aerial firefighting and rescue capability, construction of a new road and wide esplanade near the Pasig River, digitalization of hospital and city hall services, provision of a city-wide free wifi connection, and the establishment of a command center to closely monitor and enforce a city-wide anti-crime CCTV network are also included in Discaya’s priority projects.
Discaya says she will tap into her people management and customer service skills to deliver on her campaign promises.
“Gagamitin ko ang kakayanan ko sa pagpapalago ng mga pribadong kumpanya upang mabago at maisaayos ang buhay ng aking mga kababayan sa Pasig. Ito ang binibitiwan kong pangako, na pursigido kong tutuparin kung ako ay papalarin sa May 12 elections,” Discaya said.
Discaya was a regular minimum wage worker when she joined the workforce in 1998 as an on-the-job trainee while she was still in college. She climbed up the labor ladder using her business skills and acumen to become the chief financial officer and marketing manager of various construction firms.
From working as a receptionist, she improved to becoming a communications specialist, marketing specialist, recruitment specialist and liaison officer. She likewise worked as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher and taught multilingual learners for one year.
Discaya earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Computer Management at the Pasig Catholic College. Prior to that, she took up Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Management of Service Institution at the La Consolacion Colle for two years.
She also studied at St. Paul’s Catholic School and St. Lawrence for her secondary and primary schools in London, England.
Discaya is married to Curlee Discaya, her teenage sweetheart. They have four kids – three boys and one girl.
