Ex-Tesda chief facing graft cases loses House bid in Iloilo

ILOILO CITY—Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco Jr. was voted out of office after dominating politics in the second congressional district of Iloilo for 15 years.

But in Antique, former assemblyman Arturo Pacificador is back in public office, 27 years after he was booted out from power in the 1986 Edsa People Power I revolt.

Syjuco, running under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), is running third to Pavia Mayor Arcadio Gorriceta, of the ruling Liberal Party, and I-Care party-list Rep. Salvador Cabuluna III, who is running as an independent candidate.

Gorriceta has 36,817 votes against the 26,741 votes of Cabaluna and 20,274 votes of Syjuco based on partial results from the Commission on Elections as of 12:27 p.m. on Wednesday.

Syjuco represented the second district from 1998 to 2004 before his wife, Judy Jalbuena-Syjuco, took over from 2004 to 2010 while he was director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

The Syjuco couple is facing several criminal cases for alleged irregularities in the 2005 disbursement of P20 million from the wife’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) through the Tesda and implemented by a nongovernment organization founded by the congressman.

The Sandiganbayan has issued a hold-departure order against Syjuco in connection with six graft charges for the alleged P61-million overpricing of training materials purchased by the Tesda under him.

Syjuco has denied the allegations and has accused the administration of political harassment and persecution.

In Antique, the 83-year-old Pacificador (UNA) is among five candidates who won a seat in the provincial board representing the province’s south district.

A close ally of the dead dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Pacificador had been tagged but cleared as the mastermind in the killing of Evelio Javier.