Another case filed against Abellanosa

WITH barely a month before the midterm elections, congressional candidate Rodrigo Abellanosa of the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) is facing yet another complaint from his Team Rama rival Aristotle Batuhan.

Batuhan filed a tax-evasion complaint with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) against Abellanosa, owner of the Asian College of Technology (ACT), and ACT International Educational Foundation Inc. last Friday.

Abellanosa and Batuhan are gunning for Cebu City’s south congressional district to be vacated by outgoing Rep. Tomas Osmeña, who’s running for mayor against his predecessor Mayor Michael Rama.

In his complaint to the BIR, Batuhan accused Abellanosa of non-declaration of income from rentals and the diversion of ACT Foundation’s income and assets by Abellanosa to fund his congressional campaign.

Batuhan said the lease by ACT of the land on which the ACT Cyber Tower stands was never declared in the filings of either corporations with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Batuhan said that ACT owns a parcel of land acquired from ABS-CBN in December 2003.

The land is located at N. Bacalso Avenue corner Leon Kilat Street, Cebu City and is listed in ACT’s financial statements as one of its assets.

The building, which stands on the same land, however is declared under the name of ACT Foundation.

He attached copies of ACT’s information sheet and financial statement of ACT and ACT Foundation for 2011 in his complaint.

“At the outset, it must be pointed out that ACT Foundation’s organization as a non-stock, non-profit corporation is suspect because its funds are being used for purposes other than for which it was organized,” Batuhan stated in his complaint.

“It is very likely that Mr. Abellanosa is tapping the marketing accounts of the corporations to fund his congressional campaign,” the complaint read.

He cited how ACT Foundation’s Representation Expense ballooned from P286,304 in 2010 to P928,243 in 2011.

Batuhan also cited ACT’s Advertising and Promotion Expenses which swelled from zero in 2010 to P1,064,716 in 2011.

Abellanosa is also accused of the under-declaration of income from tuition and the non-declaration of the councilor’s counterpart scholarship fund and the non-payment of taxes.

In 2011, ACT Foundation declared receiving over P67 million from Cebu City Hall as financial assistance to the government’s scholars but declared an income of only P50.5 million for the year.

Councilor Abellanosa declined calls and instead texted Cebu Daily News that he has a 120,000 votes lead against Batuhan despite his alleged media propaganda against him.

“The only way he can beat me is to make me disappear. My battery of lawyers will handle every case he will throw at me,” Abellanosa said.

Batuhan earlier filed complaints against Abellanosa before the Office of the President, the Visayas Ombudsman and at the Commission on Audit (COA). /Jose Santino S. Bunachita, Correspondent