San Simon Mayor Abundio “JP” Punsalan Jr. found himself at the center of a controversy after attending a seminar on ethics and accountability.
Just hours after sitting among fellow local leaders at the L.E.A.D. Program (Leadership, Ethics, Accountability, and Development in Local Governance) held at the Kingsborough International Convention Center in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, Punsalan with his accomplice was arrested in an entrapment operation by NBI agents inside a cafe at Clark Freeport in Angeles City on Tuesday afternoon.
He was accused of demanding P80-million from Realsteel Corporation in exchange for the release of business permit, with P30 million in marked cash allegedly received.
The amount was the initial payment for P80 million that the suspects allegedly demanded from complainant Realsteel Corp.
It was learned that the suspects allegedly demanded payment in tranches for the remaining P50 million.
NBI probers said Punsalan did not resist arrest while his six bodyguards were also held and disarmed.
The operation stemmed from complaints filed by Real Steel Corp., a steel bar manufacturing firm operating in San Simon.
According to the complaint Punsalan allegedly “demanded P100 million from the company” despite the firm having no environmental or tax-related violations where an entrapment was immediately set.
This stark contrast between the seminar’s message and the arrest has sparked outrage and raised questions about corruption in local offices.
The seminar, organized by the Provincial Government of Pampanga in partnership with the DILG, aimed to promote ethical leadership, unity, and transparency in local governance.
Punsalan faces charges under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Ironically, San Simon, named after Saint Simon the Zealot, a man of conviction, is now in the spotlight for alleged betrayal of public trust.
Punsalan has been suspended multiple times, with the latest being a six-month suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman for “simple neglect of duty and simple misconduct” in June 2023.
The suspension stemmed from the reclassification of a parcel of land without deliberations, which was later transferred to private individuals and used as collateral for a millions of loan.
Punsalan’s history of suspensions suggests a pattern of alleged irregularities, including a six-month suspension order in July 2021 after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Pampanga found him and five other councilors guilty of “dishonesty, grave misconduct in office, gross negligence, gross dereliction of duty, and grave abuse of authority” over the purchase of parcel of land near the municipal hall in 2020.
On November 2020, Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda ordered the two-month preventive suspension of Punsalan Jr. and councilors Romanoel Santos, Mark Macapagal, Irene Dagdag, Randell Bondoc, Archiebald Basilio, and Alekseyevich Vergara on the strength of SP Resolution No. 5529 arising from the same administrative case over the land purchase.
