Hold departure order issued vs Bacolod mayor

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan has issued a hold departure order against Bacolod City Mayor Monico Punetevella who is facing graft charges for an alleged P25-million procurement anomaly when he was still a congressman.

In an order dated Feb. 10, the anti-graft court directed the Bureau of Immigration to bar Puentevella from leaving the country either by air or sea transport.

Puentevella may only travel abroad if he secures a prior written permission from the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division chaired by Associate Justice Gregory Ong.

The order also covers his two co-accused, former Department of Education regional director for Western Visayas Victoriano Tirol Jr. and Merryland Publishing president Jessie Garcia.

No arrest warrants have been issued since the Sandiganbayan still has to hear and resolve Puentevella’s motion for judicial determination of probable cause, which ultimately seeks the dismissal of the graft case.

The Office of the Ombudsman ordered Puentevella’s indictment last October for an alleged anomaly in the procurement of supposedly defective and unsuitable computers worth more than P25 million for public schools in Bacolod City from 2002 to 2007.

The computer packages were funded by Puentevella’s Priority Development Assistance Fund.