Acosta posts bail

MANILA, Philippines - Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) general manager Nereus Acosta posted P6,000 bail shortly after the Sandiganbayan issued an arrest warrant against him for perjury.

Acosta appeared before the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division late Wednesday afternoon with his legal counsel.

Acosta, President Aquino’s adviser on environment protection, was accused of illegally channelling P5.5 million from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to the Bukidnon Vegetable Producers Cooperative (BVPC) on Sept. 4, 2006 when he was still congressman of Bukidnon.

The ombudsman said Acosta made a deliberate misrepresentation that the PDAF disbursement had the concurrence of the Sangguniang Bayan of Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon province.

Prosecutors said Acosta’s family controls BVPC. Acosta’s mother Socorro, former mayor of Manolo Fortich, was implicated for allegedly executing an affidavit affirming that the transfer of Acosta’s PDAF to the BVPC was concurred by the municipal council.

Ombudsman investigators said there was no record of any resolution by the Sangguniang Bayan approving such fund release.

A warrant of arrest was also issued against Acosta’s mother, and she has yet to post bail.

Political harassment

Acosta decried the filing of charges against him as politically motivated.

“It is with disbelief that a perjury case was filed against me even if the complainant has already desisted. I can only surmise that the warrant of arrest issued in relation to this case is political harassment and is motivated by vested interests,” Acosta said.

He said he is saddened that he and his family have been subjected to an array of attacks not just legally but in media as well.

“The relentless and systematic acts of demolition against my person and my family can only be attributed to concerted and well-funded machinations of powerful individuals and groups that have been discomforted, to say the least, by my advocacies and programs to protect the environment,” Acosta said. – With Rhodina Villanueva