The Sandiganbayan has ordered a 90-day preventive suspension of Aldrin C. Cuña, executive vice president of the National Defense College of the Philippines, over his pending graft case that was filed when he was the city administrator of Quezon City.
In a six-page resolution issued on April 3, 2024, the anti-graft court said that the criminal charge filed against Cuña is "sufficient in form and substance," and, thus, the issuance of the suspension is only a matter of course.
"This is because a preventive suspension is not a penalty. It is not imposed as a result of judicial proceedings. In fact, if acquitted, the official concerned shall be entitled to reinstatement and to the salaries and benefits which he failed to receive during suspension," the resolution stated.
"Taking into consideration the public policy involved in preventively suspending a public officer charged under a valid information, the protection of public interest will definitely have to prevail over the private interest of the accused," it also stated.
The resolution was written by Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bernelito R. Fernandez and Ronald B. Moreno.
Prosecutors alleged that Cuña, who was then city administrator of Quezon City at that time, together with former Mayor Herbert "Bistek" Bautista, made the full payment of P25,342,359.25 to Cygnet Energy and Power Asia, Inc. for the Supply and Installation of Solar Power System and Waterproofing Works for the city's Civic Center Building.
However, the prosecutors alleged that Cygnet was not entitled to the said amount due to its failure to get the Net Metering System from Meralco, which is a requirement of the Supply and Delivery Agreement.
Bautista and Cuña also have aanother case before the Sandiganbayan over the payment made to Geodata Solutions Inc. amounting to P32,107,912.5 for the procurement of online occupational permitting and tracking system.
The prosecution alleged that no appropriate ordinance was given by the Sangguniang Bayan for the project, nor was complete delivery of the products made.