
GUILTY. Ito ang hatol ng Sandiganbayan kay former Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista kaugnay ng P32-milyong transaksyon sa likod ng proyektong Online Occupational Permitting and Tracking System (OOPTS) noong 2019.
Sa inilabas na desisyon ng anti-graft court, pinatawan ng parusang pagkakakulong ng mula anim hanggang 10 taon ang dating alkalde, kasama ang dating city administrator na si Aldrin Cuña
Bukod sa “mahabang bakasyon” sa bilibid, hindi na rin pwedeng magtrabaho o humawak ng pwesto sa gobyerno sina Bautista at Cuña.
Ayon sa Sandiganbayan, walang silbi ang OOPTS na, “the most egregious of which was the inability to access the same by the public through the internet, despite the fact that the system itself was supposed to be an online occupational permitting system.”
“It stands to reason that the ultimate task that should be met, under the Terms of Reference, is that the occupational permit go fully online for the same to be used by any applicant for an occupational permit,” saad sa desisyon ng Sandiganbayan.
“In this case, it truly defeats the purpose if, after the delivery of the hardware equipment and the software that was ready to be installed, assuming all the digital infrastructure (IP address, LAN, SSL, etc.) was fixed, the online occupational permit could still not be accessed online.”
Sa halip na bayaran agad ang kontratista, mas angkop anang Sandiganbayan kung inindorso na lang ng dating alkalde ang naturang proyekto sa pumalit na mayor para sa wastong pagsusuri matapos makitaan ng mga “technical glitches.”
“For payment to be approved by accused Bautista at the same time, there was undoubtedly an unwarranted benefit, advantage, or preference given to Geodata (contractor). The real score was not to rush payment when all the environment variables required under the Terms of Reference should have been complied with,” ayon sa desisyon.
“With all the muddle the OOPTS encountered, the project was indeed prematurely marked as completed when payment was effected to Geodata on July 1, 2019, all to its benefit, advantage or preference. While there was a lack of proof showing actual damage to the government, the prosecution’ s evidence clearly showed that the accused unjustly favored Geodata by facilitating payment when delivery was not complete.”
Kapansin-pansin naman sa desisyon na walang utas pagbayarin si Bautista at Cuña.
Samantala, nanindigan ang dating mayor na “politically motivated” ang kasong inihain laban sa kanya.