The Sandiganbayan Second Division rescheduled the hearing on the case filed against former Bacolod City mayor Monico Puentevella on November 8, 2018.
City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan said Sunday, October 21, he was informed that Puentevella would have taken the witness stand on last week but “he seems not to observe the proper procedure of presenting himself as a witness, or a witness for himself.”
“He [Puentevella] submitted his judicial affidavit when basically under the rules, this was not agreed upon by the prosecution and him, for him as the accused, he had earlier submitted to the proposition that as the accused, he will not submit his judicial affidavit, but nonetheless he submitted his judicial affidavit and this was opposed and the opposition was granted by the court so the hearing was reset to November 8,” Bayatan said.
He said on November 8, Puentevella will be presenting himself in a conventional manner, but not by way of judicial affidavit.
Puentevella is facing charges for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) for the alleged overpriced purchase of information technology (IT) packages worth P26 million using his Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) when he was a congressman from 2002 to 2007.
The case is about the alleged overpricing and ghost deliveries of computers using the pork barrel funds of Puentevella.
The complaint filed against Puentevella -- using his pork barrel funds in years 2002, 2004, and 2005 -- stated he bought computer packages for P400,000 each when the prevailing prices then ranged only between P29,000 and P66,000 each.