Abellanosa ready to face charges at Sandigan

CEBU City South District Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa said he is ready to answer the graft charges filed against him by the Ombudsman at the Sandiganbayan in relation to his involvement in the city’s scholarship program during his tenure as city councilor.

“If needed, hundreds of parents and graduates are ready to testify as to how the participation of ACTIEF in the city scholarship program helped them in completing their studies, contrary to the Ombudsman’s accusation that it is prejudicial to the government and detrimental to public interest,” he said.

Abellanosa recalled that they were notified last June 7 by the Ombudsman that their motion for reconsideration on the Ombudsman’s earlier decision was denied a year earlier in July 7, 2015.

“We are even wondering why it took the Ombudsman this long to give me the opportunity to clear my name of malicious accusations in the proper court,” Abellanosa said.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales accused Abellanosa of violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act when he allowed his school, ACTIEF, to join the Cebu City government’s scholarship program when he was still councilor in 2011.

The “information” document signed by Morales was posted in the Ombudsman’s official Twitter account on Tuesday. The case was filed at the Sandiganbayan last October 7.

The Ombudsman said Abellanosa owned ACTIEF, something that has been denied by the congressman before.

The Ombudsman said the school collected P51 million in scholarship funds and tuition from the city government.

Abellanosa said the case will still be raffled and petitions and motions will be filed by both parties.