The Sandiganbayan has denied the plea of former Quezon City administrator Aldrin C. Cuña to dismiss the graft charge filed against him in the alleged anomalous P25.34 million contract in 2019 for the city’s solar power system and waterproofing.
Cuña was charged together with former mayor Herbert “Bistek” Constantine M. Bautista whose motion to dismiss on alleged inordinate delay in the conduct of preliminary investigation had earlier been denied by the anti-graft court.
In their graft charge, the prosecution alleged that Bautista and Cuña made the full payment of P25,342,359.25 to Cygnet Energy and Power Asia, Inc. for the project in the city’s Civic Center building.
But the prosecution alleged that Cygnet was not entitled to the payment because of the firm’s failure to get the Net Metering System from the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), which is a requirement of the Supply and Delivery Agreement.
In his plea to dismiss the graft charge, Cuña, who is currently director III for the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), argued that his act of signing the Certificate of Acceptance does not constitute a crime.
Even if damage did occur, Cuña said that the alleged damage and prejudice against the government only occurred after the release of the check and payment to Cygnet.
He pointed out that it was not a result of the signing of Certificate of Acceptance since the accountability for the damage against the government should lie with those responsible for the release of the check and payment to Cygnet.
The Sandiganbayan denied his motion. "It must be remembered that an Information (criminal charge sheet) should only state the ultimate facts constituting the offense and not the finer details of why and how the alleged crime was committed because these matters are more appropriate for trial," it said.
"Likewise, the validity or merits of a party's defense or accusation and the admissibility of testimonies and evidence of the parties are better ventilated during the trial proper," it added.
The resolution dated July 25, 2023 was written by Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bernelito R. Fernandez and Ronald B. Moreno.