Suspension of ‘kissing college head’ sought

BAMBANG, Nueva Vizcaya — The Office of the Ombudsman was asked yesterday to issue a preventive suspension order against state college president here who is facing charges of multiple counts of graft and act of lasciviousness.

In his petition, Joselito Venturina, former president of the Rotary Club of Nueva Vizcaya, appealed for the immediate preventive suspension of Dr. Patricio Unday, president of the Nueva Vizcaya State Polytechnic College here.

He said that a suspension would prevent Unday from destroying, manufacturing or even concealing evidence that could exonerate him from charges. Unday is facing 20 counts of administrative and criminal complaints before the Ombudsman for graft and corruption involving millions of pesos of irregular purchases of school equipment.

Among the most unusual but more popular complaints here of Venturina was the act of lasciviousness Unday and his wife Sonia allegedly committed by kissing each other "torridly" in front of students and faculty during a college affair in 1999.

In his earlier complaint, Venturina accused Unday and his wife, also the dean of graduate school of the said college, of displaying the "titillating" action unfit for persons holding such dignified positions in public.

He described the act of the couple as "public display of eroticism."

Venturina described that Unday even "suspended" his wife against the wall and gave her the passionate kiss, while pulling back her hair in full view of his students and faulty members.

He said the couple kissed passionately for an exceedingly long time with open mouth and intruding tongue.

The "titillating" act happened during a college contest for the longest kiss sometime in 1999.

Venturina said that Unday and his wife overdid their award-winning kiss which earned them a prize of P100.

Allegations of overpricing, irregular bidding and disregard for the results of actual biddings were also made by Venturina. Among these are the purchase of lumber for the construction of college facilities and the printing of a college publication, for which the president allegedly asked a 10-percent kickback.

It was also alleged in the complaint filed before the Ombudsman that Unday purchased several overpriced items, among them a boiler, a laminator and handheld radios ten times the actual price.

In a radio program, Unday denied all the charges against him, calling all these as baseless and unfounded.