FORMER Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) mayor Aniano Antalan was granted temporary liberty after posting bail in connection with his corruption case.
Antalan is facing two charges for violating Section 3 b of the Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Article 11 of the Revised Penal Code of Indirect Bribery.
He voluntarily surrendered on Tuesday morning, November 13, and was placed under the custody of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Davao region (CIDG-11), according to Chief Inspector Milgrace Cajes Driz, CIDG-Davao City Field Unit chief.
The 17th Division of the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City had issued an arrest order against the former mayor.
The charges stemmed from the memorandum of agremeent (MOA) between the local government of Igacos, which he represented being the city mayor during that time, and a cooperative in the city together with a partylist group.
Antalan allegedly received a cash gift from the cooperative, which he vehemently denied.
In his defense, Antalan said he will prove in court that all claims against him are all lies.
He also believed that the issue against him is all because of politics, especially since he will be running again for city mayor in Igacos in the 2019 midterm elections. (Richy Nalagon)