HUNDREDS of parents and graduates of Asian College of Technology International Educational Foundation (ACTIEF) are willing to testify how the scholarship program offered by the school helped them get a college degree.
Rep. Rodrigo “Bebot” Abellanosa (Cebu City, south district) shared this after the Office of the Ombudsman filed graft charges against him before the Sandiganbayan.
He said the move of the parents is contrary to the Ombudsman’s accusation that his participation in deciding to include his school in the City’s scholarship program is prejudicial to the City and detrimental to public interest.
Abellanosa said he has been expecting the move for months already after being notified last June that his motion for reconsideration was denied.
He said the development will give him a chance to clear his name in the proper court against the malicious accusations thrown at him.
“It is a great relief for me to be finally given this chance to defend myself in the proper forum,” he said.
In the complaint information signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, Abellanosa was accused of violating Section 3(i) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft Corrupt Practices Act when he allowed his school to participate in the Cebu City Government’s scholarship program.
The document added that Abellanosa has “willfully, unlawfully and criminally became directly or indirectly interested or have material interest” in the approval of the resolution authorizing former mayor Michael Rama to enter into a memorandum of agreement with ACTIEF for the City’s scholarship program.
The resolution was passed in 2011, when Abellanosa was a city councilor.
ACTIEF, called the Asian College of Technology (ACT) that time, was among the more than 20 colleges and universities that the City tapped for the implementation of its scholarship program.
The school was owned by Abellanosa until he divested his shares last year.
The graft case against Abellanosa stemmed from the administrative and criminal cases filed by taxpayer Philip Banguiran against Abellanosa in December 2012, for alleged violations of RA 3019.
The Ombudsman already found Abellanosa guilty of conflict of interest for signing the memorandum of agreement in 2010 and 2011 for the inclusion of ACTIEF in the scholarship program.
Because of the case, the City withheld the P135-million payment for ACTIEF and filed a petition for declaratory relief before the court to determine if the law allows the City to pay the school even with the findings of the Ombudsman.
