Former Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has been acquitted by the Sandiganbayan of a graft charge linked to a ₱25.34-million solar power project undertaken in 2019.
Based on reports, the anti-graft court ruled during the promulgation on Friday, December 12, that the prosecution failed to prove Bautista’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. With the acquittal, Bautista’s hold departure order was also lifted.
While Bautista was cleared, his former city administrator Aldrin Cuña was found guilty of graft in connection with the same case.
According to Bautista’s staff, the former mayor went straight to his parents’ graves at Holy Cross Memorial Park after learning of the court’s decision, where he reportedly became emotional and expressed gratitude.
Meanwhile, netizens were quick to notice a social media reaction from Bautista’s former partner, Ruffa Gutierrez. In an Instagram post by ABS-CBN News reporting Bautista’s acquittal, Gutierrez was seen liking the news update, which drew online attention.
Bautista and Cuña were charged in 2023 with two counts of graft filed by the Office of the Ombudsman, stemming from alleged irregularities in projects worth a total of ₱57.4 million during their term.
Earlier, in January 2025, the 7th Division of the Sandiganbayan found Bautista and Cuña guilty in a separate graft case involving a ₱32-million contract for an online occupational permitting and tracking system implemented in 2019.
It was also revealed that the Third Division’s decision to acquit Bautista in the solar power project case was not unanimous. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Karl Miranda argued that Bautista and Cuña should still be held accountable for approving the full payment to Cygnet Energy and Power Asia Inc., despite the lack of a complete net-metering permit from Meralco.
Miranda stressed that such cases should serve as a warning to public officials who rush approvals toward the end of their terms. He opposed the application of the Arias doctrine, which allows officials to rely on the good faith of subordinates, saying that proper oversight remains a duty of approving authorities.
The justice added that Bautista, as the project’s end-user, had the responsibility to ensure the legality and regularity of the contract, and should not have approved payments despite noted irregularities. Miranda also questioned the court’s decision not to impose civil liability on Cuña, who he said was responsible for approving ₱12.67 million in payments to Cygnet, a firm not included as a respondent in the case.
