The Sandiganbayan Special Seventh Division has found former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista and former city administrator Aldrin Cuña guilty of graft related to the Online Occupational Permitting and Tracking System (OOPTS) project. The court ruled that they violated Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 by facilitating full payment to Geodata despite incomplete delivery.
The Sandiganbayan Special Seventh Division has convicted former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista and former city administrator Aldrin Cuña of graft in connection with the Online Occupational Permitting and Tracking System (OOPTS) project. The court's decision, released on Monday, found them guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019, also known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The court stated in its decision that all elements of the violation of Section 3(e) of RA 3019 were established against accused Bautista and Cuña in relation to their facilitation of full payment to Geodata for the project, despite the fact that complete delivery had yet to be made.Former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista. PHOTO BY ABBY PALMONES/ FILEThe prosecution did not need to prove the actual payment, although evidence clearly demonstrated that Geodata issued an official receipt acknowledging receipt of payment in the amount of PHP 32,107,912.00 on July 1, 2019. Bautista and Cuña were sentenced to six years and a month up to 10 years in prison. They were also permanently disqualified from holding public office. The conviction is appealable. The court ruled that Bautista and Cuña would be under provisional liberty. No civil liability was imposed. The court explained that the P32,107,912.50 'cannot be directed to be paid by either accused, the same having been received in full by a private party which is not a party to this case.' It further stated that prosecution evidence did not show that Bautista or Cuña had personally benefited financially from the payment. Therefore, restitution of the amount paid to Geodata could not be ordered from the accused.Section 3(e) of the anti-graft law prohibits a public officer from causing undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party unwarranted benefits, advantage, or preference in the discharge of their official, administrative, or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence. The court found that the approval of payment and the release of the check to Geodata constituted an unwarranted benefit, advantage, or preference in its favor. While there was no proof of actual damage to the government, the prosecution's evidence clearly demonstrated that the accused unjustly favored Geodata by facilitating payment when delivery was incomplete
Graft Sandiganbayan Quezon City Herbert Bautista Aldrin Cuña OOPTS Project Republic Act 3019
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