By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Former Bacolod City Mayor Monico Puentevella, along with three others, are facing graft and corruption charges before the Office of the Ombudsman following a 2016 purchase of a city bus for P3.9 million.
Also named in the case were Jerome Solinap, Josephus Cerna, and Harry James Magbanua.
In a complaint affidavit by the Save Bacolod Movement (SBM) leader Sammy Montoyo, he alleged, in February 2015, Puentevella issued a purchase request for a “brand new” bus and submitted the request to the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), then chaired by Solinap.
Subsequently, Solinap issued an invitation to bid (ITB), wherein Nikka Trading was the only bidder, submitting their form on May 2, 2015. The bus was delivered on January 27, 2016, where it was certified as brand new by Magbanua, who was working as maintenance foreman for the city government. On March 9, 2016, Cerna, assistant city engineer and BAC member, issued a certification claiming the unit was in good condition and the city paid a total of P3,988,800.80.
Montoyo, however, claims to have found several irregularities with the purchase, including an engine number indicating the bus model was manufactured in 1994, contradicting Magbanua’s certification.
He called the acts of the respondents as “categorically prejudicial to the interest of the city.”
The bus was also the subject of scrutiny before the city council last year.
Solinap insisted only the engine of the bus was brand new and not the entire vehicle, claiming a brand-new one would cost around P7 million./WDJ