Charles Teves
Former Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista and administrator Aldrin Cuña face corruption charges before the Sandiganbayan court.
The Ombudsman Office filed charges on March 15th, 2023. They relate to allegedly dubious projects worth 57.4 million Philippine pesos carried out in 2019.
The charges consist of two counts of violating Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019, also known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. This section prohibits public officials from giving undue benefits to private parties, causing injury to any party, including the government, or showing favoritism.
One of the cases involved the payment of 25.342 million Philippine pesos to Cygnet Energy Power Asia Inc. This was for installing a solar power system and waterproofing works at the city hall’s Civic Center Building.
According to the Ombudsman, Bautista approved the payment despite the company’s failure to secure a net metering system from Manila Electric Co., a requirement for the project. The payment was made based on an updated acceptance certificate issued by Cuña.
The other case involved paying 32.108 million Philippine pesos to Geodata Solutions Inc. for an “online occupational permitting and tracking system” project.
Netizens gave Bautista it.
Kunwari nagulat pa ko sa kapal ng mukha mo Herbert Bautista. Pwe! https://t.co/85NFJE3QbO
— sr (@samrhoyreal) April 12, 2023
ang dami anomalya pala nito si herbert Bautista
— @greencross2 (@ClaudioAdie) April 12, 2023
Tatak unithieves ☺️🥰😍 https://t.co/FWdO6FLG73
— joseph anthony tan ancog 🍥 (@joe19seph92) April 13, 2023
Yan ang aguy https://t.co/H8RMOgl1pK
— devlin (@angelmbdc) April 12, 2023
pretends to be shocked https://t.co/j1YKDw41kz
— ㅂㅈㅂ (@carebearhhhh) April 12, 2023
You can say a lot of things about the UniThieves but you can't deny one thing: they really know their brand. 😭😭😭 https://t.co/HAVcAt3Svp
— Dalai Llama (@HisWooliness) April 12, 2023
AHAHAHAHSGAHAHHA OMG momma is always right about you https://t.co/UDu6FShNHB
— jezu (@jezumasen) April 12, 2023
once a unithief, always a unithief…EME! https://t.co/GdrCggOzcC
— ⭐ andie_ji ⭐ (Dong-Eun Era) (@AndieJi_) April 12, 2023
According to the Ombudsman, Bautista entered into a contract with Geodata and approved the release of payment. This was without a budget appropriation ordinance passed by the city council.
The ombudsman also stated that Cuña signed the necessary documents to make it seem like the fund’s release was lawful and under his control.
Geodata was paid before the project was fully completed, the ombudsman added. The payments to both Cygnet and Geodata were approved by Bautista three days before he left office after serving three terms as mayor.
The ombudsman recommends a bail bond of 90,000 Philippine pesos in each case. Both Bautista and Cuña have posted bail, according to Sandiganbayan records.
The charges were prepared by Assistant Special Prosecutor III Lyn Dimayuga and approved by Ombudsman Samuel Martires.
The ombudsman has listed several individuals, including Carlo Austria of the city legal department, Noel Emmanual Gascon of the city internal audit department, John Thomas Alferos III of the city council, and Ramon Jesus Africa of the business permit and licensing department, as witnesses in the case.
