Sandigan junks Bistek’s plea to dismiss graft rap

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the bid of former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista and former administrator Aldrin Cuña to dismiss the graft case filed against them in connection with the allegedly anomalous P32-million online occupational permitting and tracking system project in 2019.

In a resolution promulgated on March 8, the anti-graft court’s Seventh Division denied Bautista and Cuña’s motions for leave to file a demurrer to evidence.

A demurrer would have allowed Baustista and Cuña to seek the dismissal of the graft case without presenting their defense, but solely on the ground of the supposed weakness of evidence presented against them by the ombudsman.

The court noted that state prosecutors were able to present 36 documentary exhibits, which were identified and testified on by 27 witnesses, to back allegations that the former Quezon City officials gave unwarranted preference to Geodata Solutions Inc. to the detriment of the local government.

The Seventh Division said the arguments raised by Bautista and Cuña in their motions are matters of defense best passed upon “after a full-blown trial on the merits of the case.”

The Sandiganbayan set Bautista and Cuña’s initial presentation of evidence on March 20.