BY RAMPADOR ALINDOG
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FORMER Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, who is now making a comeback as actor via ABS-CBN’s “Make It With You,” is reportedly facing a graft complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman.
According to reports, Bautista, along with two others, have been charged in connection with the project Online Occupational Permitting and Tracking System project, described as “a web-based application that provides the City’s Business Permits and Licensing Department (BPLD) a comprehensive system for the online processing of occupational permits.”
Charged along with Bautista in the complaint filed last Dec. 13 by Noel Emmanuel Gascon, who was internal auditor of the Quezon City Internal Audit Service (IAS), were former city administrator Aldrin Cuña and Garry Domingo.
Gascon alleged Bautista was “guilty of evident bad faith” when he “intentionally expedited” the processing of the project “to cause the fraudulent release of the funds before the expiration of their term.”
In his complaint, Gascon detailed a purchase request dated March 29, 2019 for P35 million made by Cuña as the “requesting party” and Bautista as “the approving authority.”
On May 28, 2019, the Bids and Awards Committee for Goods recommended the project awarded to Geodata Solutions.
Two days later, Bautista allegedly issued a Notice of Award in favor of Geodata.
On June 7, 2019, Bautista also supposedly signed a Supply and Delivery Agreement with Geodata for the project.
Gascon alleged that Bautista “could not have validly entered” into the contract because the city council did not approve of the same.
He also found it incredible that Geodata was able to issue delivery receipts on June 13, 2019 “indicating that the Online Occupational Permit Application” was delivered, inasmuch as it was also able to issued a delivery receipt “for among other things, the manuals for the application,” the following week.
On June 25, 2019, the BPLD issued a certificate of acceptance signed by Domingo.
“It is simply inconceivable that such a system could have been fully delivered and implemented in such a short period,” Gascon said.
Gascon alleged P32.1 million of the city’s funds “were unlawfully disbursed” relating the transaction.
Bautista as with his co-accuseds are yet to issue a statement on the matter.
