Villafuerte says Sandiganbayan suspension order ‘absurd’

NAGA CITY – Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jr. has called the 90-day suspension that the Sandiganbayan imposed on him “absurd.”

“[The] 90-day suspension order was absurd, as it was based on charges involving acts that were allegedly committed when I was still governor of Camarines Sur,” Villafuerte said in a statement.

The case filed in the Office of the Ombudsman by former Board Member Carlo Batalla involved the alleged purchase of P20-million worth of fuel in 2010.

READ: CamSur Rep. Villafuerte suspended for 90 days over graft case

Villafuerte said a complaint for malversation filed by Batalla for the same case was dismissed by the Ombudsman in November 2012 after the antigraft court found that “control and accountability to [the public fund used for fuel deliveries] is likewise absent with regard to respondent Villafuerte.”

He said the Sandiganbayan order to the leadership of the House of Representatives to implement the suspension was “not even preventive but punitive.”

“It was ostensibly done to ensure that I would not influence the investigation into the charges filed against me when I was still governor. How could I have any influence left in my former office when I am no longer the governor? Where is the logic in that?” he said.

Villafuerte said he was confident the charges against him would never prosper “because the case has no legal leg to stand on.” CDG