CEBU south district congressional candidate Aristotle Batuhan filed a case in the Office of the Ombudsman against rival Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa for conflict of interest last Tuesday.
Abellanosa is accused of conflict of interest because the school he owns, the Asian College of Technology (ACT) is also a beneficiary of the Cebu City scholarship program.
But the councilor said the charges against him is an “act of desperation” by Batuhan.
“Many months ago he has been saying about these things but there definitely is no basis.” Abellanosa said.
He also expressed surprise why Batuhan has been picking on his participation in the city scholarship program when this benefited over 5,000 city scholars. Under the program the city government gives P10,000 financial aid to city scholars per semester.
Abellanosa claims that most of the city scholars are lured to his school as they offer counterpart funding to scholars amounting to P10,000.
Abellanosa was given a seat in the City Scholarship Committee because he is chairman of the Social Services Committee of the City Council.
Despite collectibles of over P100 million from City Hall, Abellanosa said his school remains committed to the city’s scholarship program./Correspondent Edison A. delos Angeles