The Sandiganbayan has convicted former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista and his former city administrator Aldrin Cuña of graft in connection with the 2019 procurement of an Online Occupational Permitting and Tracking System (OOPTS).
In a decision released on Monday, January 20, the court sentenced Bautista and Cuña to six to 10 years in prison. Both were also permanently disqualified from holding public office.
The anti-graft court did not impose fines on the two, noting that the P32 million in public funds involved had already been paid to the private contractor, Geodata Solutions, which was not a party to the case.
Prosecutors argued that Bautista and Cuña showed undue favoritism in awarding the contract to Geodata Solutions without securing the required city council approval for a specific budget allocation.
During his May 2023 arraignment, Bautista described the charges as “politically motivated,” citing his decades of public service in Quezon City as a councilor, vice mayor, and mayor. However, he did not name anyone he believed to be behind the alleged political motives.
Bautista served as Quezon City mayor until his term ended in 2019.
