The Sandiganbayan has ordered the 90-day preventive suspension of San Simon, Pampanga Mayor Abundio ‘JP’ Punsalan Jr. pending a trial for graft and extortion.
The directive comes following his entrapment last September at a restaurant in Clark Freeport, where he was allegedly caught receiving a bag containing about P30 million.
In a 7-page resolution released Friday, the anti-graft court’s Seventh Division ordered Punsalan to cease and desist from ‘further performing and/or exercising the functions, duties and privileges of his position.’
In implementing the suspension order, the anti-graft court cited Section 13 of the Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which states that it is mandatory for public officials to report valid information involving purported corruption of public funds.
‘Any public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under a valid information under this Act or under the provisions of the Revised Penal Code on bribery is pending in court, shall be suspended from office,’ part of Section 13, as quoted by the court, reads.
‘Should [they] be convicted by final judgment, [they] shall lose all retirement or gratuity benefits under any law, but if [they] are acquitted, [they] shall be entitled to reinstatement and to the salaries and benefits,’ it adds.
Moreover, the Sandiganbayan said the suspension will preserve the investigation and prevent the respondent from influencing the ongoing probe.
As stated in the resolution, Punsalan argued that he was already under preventive suspension by the ombudsman, the alleged acts involved private funds, and that the information was procedurally defective.
‘In the event that this Honorable Court imposes preventive suspension, the same should be concurrently served with the Ombudsman’s imposition of preventive suspension,’ Punsalan said as quoted by the anti-graft court.
‘A successive or duplicative suspension would serve no purpose other than to inflict cumulative punishment in advance of trial,’ he told the Sandiganbayan.
But the anti-graft court rejected this reason, explaining that the preventive suspension is not a penalty and should be enforced once the information is deemed to be valid.
‘Once the information is found to be sufficient in form and substance, then the court must issue the order of suspension as a matter of course. There are no ifs and buts about it. This is because a preventive suspension is not a penalty. It is not imposed as a result of judicial proceedings,’ it said.
The complaint against Punsalan stemmed from the claim of San Simon-based Real Steel Corporation that the mayor demanded P80 million from the company in exchange for not overturning Municipal Ordinance No. 24-0025, which granted tax incentives to the firm.
The demand was allegedly accompanied by threats that Real Steel’s incentives would be revoked if payment was not made.
Reports also showed that Real Steel filed an urgent motion before the Office of the Ombudsman to suspend Punsalan in connection with an administrative case for grave misconduct and serious dishonesty. The motion remains pending.
The company likewise lodged a separate administrative case against the mayor before the Pampanga provincial board.