Pinawalang-sala ng Sandiganbayan si dating Quezon City mayor at aktor na si Herbert "Bistek" Bautista sa kasong graft kaugnay ng P25-milyong solar power deal dahil nabigo umano ang prosekusyon na patunayan ang kaniyang pagkakasala nang walang kaduda-duda. Pero nadiin sa kaso ang dati niyang city administrator na si Aldrin Cuña.
Sa inilabas na desisyon ngayong Biyernes, Disyembre 12, sinabi ng anti-graft court na kumilos lamang si Bautista “in good faith,” at batay sa rekomendasyon ng kaniyang tauhan, ang noo’y city administrator na si Aldrin Cuña, nang aprubahan niya ang paglabas ng bayad sa pribadong kompanyang Cygnet Energy and Power Asia, Inc. para sa solar power system at waterproofing works ng Quezon City Civic Center building.
Iginigiit ng mga tagausig ng gobyerno na nabayaran ang Cygnet kahit hindi nito nakuha ang Net Metering System mula sa Meralco.
“The court finds that accused Bautista was correct in invoking the Arias Doctrine. The Arias Doctrine held that all heads of offices have to rely to a reasonable extent on their subordinates and on the good faith of those who prepare bids, purchase supplies, or enter into negotiations. In other words, there has to be some added reason why the head of office should examine each of the documents he is supposed to sign,” saad sa desisyon ng anti-graft court.
“Good faith has been defined as a ‘state of mind denoting honesty of intention, and freedom from knowledge of circumstances which ought to put the holder upon inquiry; an honest intention to abstain from taking any unconscientious advantage of another, even through technicalities of law, together with absence of all information, notice, or benefit or belief of facts which render transaction unconscientious.’ Here, there is no reason for Bautista to go beyond the recommendation of his subordinates, including Cuña. To note, no other circumstances were proved by the prosecution that the disbursement voucher was irregular on its face,” dagdag nito.
Sinabi pa ng anti-graft court na ang ebidensya ng prosekusyon ay lalo pang nagpatibay na ang pagtanggap, beripikasyon, at inspeksyon ng proyekto ay isinagawa “in faithful compliance” sa Memorandum noong Disyembre 27, 2012 na gumagabay sa opisyal na tungkulin ng nasasakdal sa panahong sakop ng kaso.
Dagdag pa nito, sumailalim ang nasabing disbursement voucher sa kumpletong staff work alinsunod sa Memorandum Circular No. 8, series of 2015, bago ito nilagdaan ni Bautista.
“To demand that Bautista identify the presence or absence of a net-metering permit before signing Box "C" of the disbursement voucher, is an unreasonable expectation-akin to searching for a needle in a haystack-particularly when such a requirement cannot be readily ascertained on the face of the document,” ayon sa desisyon.
“Without any apparent irregularities in the disbursement voucher and its supporting documents. Bautista's reliance on the initials and signatures appearing therein should be considered as done in good faith and within the existing official procedure,” patuloy niyo.
Gayunman, hinatulan ng Sandiganbayan si Cuña ng pagkakasala sa kasong graft dahil siya ang responsable sa pagbabayad sa Cygnet.
“The same defense [of Bautista] cannot be applied to accused Cuña who had the initial and final opportunity to accept the project on behalf of the Quezon City Government in its required specifications,” ayon sa anti-graft court.
“Wherefore, the court finds accused Aldrin Chin Cuña guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended, and is hereby sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of six years and one month, as minimum, to eight years, as maximum. He is likewise sentenced to suffer the penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding any public office and shall suffer loss of all retirement or gratuity benefits under any law,” dagdag nito.— Llanesca T. Panti/FRJ GMA Integrated News
