Former Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella said on Tuesday, July 5, that his legal team is still studying what charges to file against a former executive assistant of his political rival who filed multiple cases against him that have all been dismissed.
Malicious prosecution or a case that could carry a harsher penalty will be filed against Samuel Montoyo, an executive assistant of former mayor Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who lodged eight cases against him, Puentevella said at a press conference at the Negros Press Club.
The “harassment” cases filed against him were geared towards destroying his family name and credibility, Puentevella said.
The last case dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman was a criminal complaint filed by Montoyo in 2017 for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, he said.
The complaint was for the alleged irregularities in the 2016 procurement of a 61-seater bus with an engine that was purportedly a 1994 model instead of being brand new.
The Ombudsman’s resolution said the respondents were able to show certifications that the bus’s engine was indeed brand new based on the standards set by the Land Transportation Office of Bacolod City.
“There is no evidence on record showing that the engine is a 1994 model or was not brand new,” it added.
Puentevella said he is very happy that Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is now the mayor of Bacolod City.
He called Benitez a dynamic young leader with connections with the powers that be in Manila, which will mean more projects and improvements for Bacolod.
What is nice is that with the election of Benitez there is now unity between Bacolod and Negros Occidental that is good for progress, he said.*