FORMER QUEZON CITY MAYOR HERBERT BAUTISTA- PHOTO FROM HERBERT “BISTEK” BAUTISTA/FACEBOOK
Former Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has been cleared of graft charges by the Sandiganbayan over the city government’s P25.34-million solar power project in 2019.
In its promulgation on Friday, the Sandiganbayan Third Division said the prosecution failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
With the ruling, the court also lifted the hold departure order previously issued against Bautista.
However, former city administrator Aldrin Cuña was found guilty of graft in the same case.
Cuña was sentenced to six to eight years in prison without civil liability or entitlement to retirement benefits.
The anti-graft court granted him provisional liberty and ordered the doubling of his P90,000 cash bond, giving him five days to comply.
Bautista and Cuña were earlier charged with violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The charges were linked to a project involving the supply and installation of a solar power system and waterproofing works for Civic Building F at Quezon City Hall.
Prosecutors alleged that the two authorized full payment to contractor Cygnet Energy and Power Asia Inc. despite incomplete project components.
Bautista denied wrongdoing, saying the project was completed, the system was operational, and the payment process followed City Council-approved bidding rules.