Sandigan denies Bacolod mayor’s motion to travel abroad

BACOLOD CITY – Facing a graft charge for funding the alleged overpricing of computer sets, Mayor Monico Puentevella of Bacolod City has been kept from travelling abroad by the Fourth Division of the Sandiganbayan.

In a decision penned last May 22, Associate Justices Jose Hernadez, Alex Quiroz and Samuel Martires junked Puentevella’s motion after he refused to enter any plea on the alleged graft charge filed against him.

Puentevella is facing graft charges for the purchase of computer sets by the Department of Education (DepEd) from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) when he was still Bacolod congressman.

Initially, Puentevella failed to attend the May 14 arraignment of the Sandiganbayan due to health reasons.

Atty. Ralph Sarmiento, Puentevella’s legal counsel, earlier claimed that Puentevella failed to appear during his arraignment at the Sandiganbayan when he was hospitalized due to stress and when his blood pressure rose.

Puentevella intends to travel to Zurich, Switzerland and New York.

Meanwhile, a June 15 pre-trial conference has been scheduled for Puentevella’s case.

If found guilty by the Sandiganbayan, Puentevella may face a 90-day preventive suspension.