Puentevella says he’s confident of acquittal

CEBU CITY—Facing trial for a graft case over a computerization project funded by pork barrel but which was found to be overpriced, Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella said he is confident of acquittal and would continue to pursue projects for his city.

The Ombudsman has endorsed the graft case against Puentevella to the Sandiganbayan for trial.

“We respect the recommendation of the Ombudsman and we will exhaust all legal avenues that are available for us under the circumstance,” said the mayor, a former congressman.

“We are confident that we will hurdle this challenge,” he said.

“In the meantime, I will continue to serve our people and focus on programs and projects that Bacolod needs,” Puentevella said in a press statement.

The Ombudsman has denied his motion to reverse a ruling indicting him and two others for irregularities in a P25-million project to buy computers for public schools in Bacolod which were found to be overpriced by at least P14 million.

Puentevella said the filing of the case five years after the pork project has been implemented was questionable.

According to Puentevella, while the funds for the project came from his pork, his signature is not on any document related to the project. If the project was indeed a scam, according to Puentevella, then the Commission on Audit (COA) should have issued a notice disallowing the disbursement of funds which COA did not do.