The Sandiganbayan acquitted actor-politician Herbert Bautista of graft over a P25 million deal.
Bautista is just one of the many showbiz personalities who crossed over to the political arena. One of the positions he held was as the Mayor of Quezon City, in which he was entangled in a controversy.
📸: DZRH
This was for the installation of a solar power system and waterproofing works at a building owned by the city in 2019. Associate Justice Ronald Moreno stated in a penned decision that Herbert Bautista was not found guilty for
“failure of prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”
In line with this, the hold departure order that was issued against the former Quezon City Mayor because of this case was lifted. However, the alleged cohort of Bautista and the former administrator Aldrin Cuña during his term was found guilty and sentenced to 6 to 8 years of imprisonment. Along with this decision, he was prohibited from holding public office and was not entitled to retirement benefits.
It could be recalled that back in January, it was reported that Herbert Bautista and Aldrin Cuña were
found guilty of graft
in connection with the 2019 procurement of an Online Occupational Permitting and Tracking System (OOPTS), which involved an amount of Php 32.11 million.
📷: The Philippine Star
Meanwhile, Herbert Bautista tried his luck at the national level during the 2022 elections. He ran for Senator, but unfortunately, he did not win. After that, the actor-politician returned to doing showbiz projects. He was included in the KathNiel series The House Arrest Of Us, in which he reconnected with
Ruffa Gutierrez
, and they became a couple.