Hinatulan ng Sandiganbayan na guilty sina dating Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista at dati niyang city administrator na si Aldrin Cuña, sa kasong katiwalain kaugnay sa proyektong Online Occupational Permitting and Tracking System (OOPTS) noong 2019 na binayaran ng P32 milyon.
Sa inilabas na desisyon ng anti-graft court ngayong Lunes, Enero 20, pinatawan ng parusang pagkakakulong ng mula anim na taon hanggang sampung taon sina Bautista at Cuña.
Pinagbawalan na rin ang dalawa na humawak ng posisyon sa gobyerno.
Ayon sa Sandiganbayan, walang mahahalagang functionality ang OOPTS na, “the most egregious of which was the inability to access the same by the public through the internet, despite the fact that the system itself was supposed to be an online occupational permitting system.”
“It stands to reason that the ultimate task that should be met, under the Terms of Reference, is that the occupational permit go fully online for the same to be used by any applicant for an occupational permit," saad sa desisyon ng Sandiganbayan.
"In this case, it truly defeats the purpose if, after the delivery of the hardware equipment and the software that was ready to be installed, assuming all the digital infrastructure (IP address, LAN, SSL, etc.) was fixed, the online occupational permit could still not be accessed online,” dagdag nito.
Bagamat inilunsad ang OOPTS noong huling bahagi ng 2021 matapos itong ayusin o pagsamahin sa isang "Hybrid System" upang gumana nang ayon sa plano, sinabi ng Sandiganbayan na hindi nito binabago ang katotohanan na pinayagan nina Bautista at Cuña ang Geodata contractor na bayaran bago ang aktuwal na serbisyo, sa kabila ng mga glitches, crashes, at non-functional features ng sistema.
Sa halip na binayaran kaagad, sinabi ng Sandiganbayan na dapat inindorso na lang ni Bautista sa pumalit sa kaniyang mayor ang proyekto para nasuring mabuti ang OOPTS sa online bago binayaran.
“For payment to be approved by accused Bautista at the same time, there was undoubtedly an unwarranted benefit, advantage, or preference given to Geodata. The real score was not to rush payment when all the environment variables required under the Terms of Reference should have been complied with,” ayon sa desisyon.
“With all the muddle the OOPTS encountered, the project was indeed prematurely marked as completed when payment was effected to Geodata on July 1, 2019, all to its benefit, advantage or preference. While there was a lack of proof showing actual damage to the government, the prosecution' s evidence clearly showed that the accused unjustly favored Geodata by facilitating payment when delivery was not complete. Undoubtedly, this qualifies as violation of Section 3 (e) of R.A. 3019. Their conviction is thus warranted,” paliwanag pa ng anti-graft court.
Sa kabila nito, hindi naman inatasan ng Sandiganbayan sina Bautista and Cuña na magbayad ng multa dahil ang halagang sangkot na P32 milyong pondo ng publiko ay tinanggap ng pribadong kompanya na hindi kasama sa kaso.
Nang basahan ng sakdal si Bautista noong 2023, sinabi ng dating alkalde na “politically motivated” ang kasong inihain laban sa kaniya.
“I devoted myself to Quezon City for 34 years, and then because of politics, we have this [case],” ani Bautista patungkol sa mga hinawakan niyang posisyon sa lungsod na bilang konsehal, vice mayor, at mayor.
Gayunman, hindi binanggit ni Bautista kung sino ang nasa likod ng pag-atake laban sa kaniya.
Samantala, sinabi ni Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Theresa Dolores Estoesta, na nagponente ng desisyon, na nakapailalim pa rin sina Bautista at Cuña sa "provisional liberty" dahil sa naunang cash bond na kanilang inilakad sa anti-graft court. — mula sa ulat ni Llanesca T. Panti/FRJ, GMA Integrated News
