Malversation charges filed vs Cuneta son

Malversation and falsification charges have been filed against the councilor-son of deceased former Pasay City mayor Pablo Cuneta by his own Liga ng Barangay officials as in-fighting among the city’s community leaders rages on.

Generoso Cuneta, the youngest son by the first wife of Pasay’s longest reigning mayor, was charged with 15 counts of malversation of the Liga’s funds amounting to at least P250,000. He was also accused of substituting his name in a P3,000 check intended for a barangay chairman.

Cuneta, as president of the organization, serves as representative of the barangay in the city council with the title of councilor.

The charges came after Cuneta filed libel raps against Liga officials for disseminating an audit report that showed his alleged financial mismanagement and irregularities in the barangay league. One of the two persons Cuneta charged with libel, the executive vice president of the group, Emmanuel Cinco, is the complainant in the malversation and falsification suit.

Based on Cinco’s affidavit, corroborated by the league’s treasurer, Eduardo Napa, in his own attached sworn statement, the barangay league president exerted "influence and pressure" on the latter on various occasions to issue checks in Cuneta’s name.

Napa said Cuneta ‘through undue and unwarranted pressure and influence coupled with coercion" persuaded him to make the checks in the form of cash advances. Napa said that although the league’s board of directors needs to approve cash advances, he acceded on Cuneta’s promise that he would obtain board permission later.

Napa said the checks were made between February to December 1999 and continued up to last year. Napa said though that he has no knowledge of the other check disbursements in the year 2000.

Napa said he has long complained to the board about the pressure and offered to resign but was discouraged from doing so. He said Cuneta’s promised board approval was never obtained.

Cinco added, Cuneta, on Sept. 11 last year, altered a P3,000-check intended as medical assitance to barangay chairman Isagani Paz Pilar, by "superimposing" his name instead.

Cuneta charged Cinco, along with the group’s auditor, Jose Cardano, a month ago for coming out with the report alleging hundreds of thousands of pesos in reported financial irregularities in the league. Cuneta said the audit report ruined his reputation.