Cleared. Aquino shows proofs of innocence.
Photo by Bong Lacson
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – “Definitively denied and dismissed.”
Thus said former Mayor Rey B. Aquino of the cases filed against his administration which have become the principal issues raised against him in the current campaign.
Aquino served full three terms as mayor, earning the distinction as first city mayor, and one term as representative of the third district. He lost his comeback bid for the mayorship in 2004 against Mayor Oscar Rodriguez. Thereafter, he served as president of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
“By raising all these old cases against my administration and yet being silent as to their actual status, my rivals are fooling the Fernandinos,” Aquino told local media in a press conference at the Bliss Hotel here yesterday.
To prove his “innocence through exculpation,” Aquino presented documents showing that all the cases have either been denied or dismissed for “lack of merit” or “insufficiency of evidence.”
Before the Department of Justice, the seven cases filed against Aquino and all subsequently denied were:
Case No. OCSPSF-06-H-1610 on the purchase of 15,000 pieces of T-shirts worth P120,000;
Case No. OCSPSF-06-F-1313 on the purchase of photo materials worth P2,410 and P7,175;
Case No. OCSPSF-06-H-1611 on the repair of service vehicle (SFP-222) worth P11,420;
Case No. OCSPSF-06-H-1446 on filling materials worth P174,000 used in the parking lot of the new market;
Case No. OCSPSF-06-H-1312 on the repair of air conditioning unit at the city planning office worth P16,705;
Case No. OCSPSF-06-H-1609 on the repair of a bulldozer worth P16,500; and
Case No. OCSPSF-06-H-1613 on the repair of service vehicle (SGK-607) worth P7,420.
Before the Ombudsman, three cases filed against Aquino and all dismissed were:
On the procurement of materials worth P243,054 used in the fencing and driveway of DepEd Building;
On the procurement of materials worth P1,121,000 used in the construction of a school building in Barangay San Agustin; and
On alleged checks amounting to P52,702,113.51 issued by Aquino without any supporting documents.
“The DOJ has cleared me of all those cases as of May 25, 2009 while the Ombudsman cases were dismissed on November 12, 2007 and March 22, 2010,” Aquino said.
“To raise them only now, long after they have been dismissed or denied, is pure and simple black propaganda,” Aquino added. “My opponent must be really desperate.”
Aquino expressed confidence that the people of the City of San Fernando “are mature enough to see through this malicious and vicious campaign” being waged against him.
