[8] In the 12th Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), he was designated as the Presiding Officer Pro Tempore and Chairman of the Committee on Social Services.

[13] Cuenco endorsed then Cebu City Councilor Jose Daluz III as his replacement[14] but eventually, former DOTC undersecretary Aristotle "Totol" Batuhan was chosen by Team Rama to run against Abellanosa.

[15] On December 13, 2012, a complaint was filed by a certain Phillip Banguiran, a resident of barangay Inayawan, Cebu City citing Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act by asking the Ombudsman in the Visayas to investigate Abellanosa because his school, Asian College of Technology, was the biggest recipient of the city's scholarship program.

[16] On October 11, 2016, the Office of the Ombudsman filed a graft case before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan against Abellanosa over an alleged P51-million anomalous transaction when he was a city councilor.

The prosecution said Abellanosa entered into an MOA with the Cebu City government on behalf of ACTIEF for the implementation of a city-funded scholarship program.

Records obtained by graft investigators showed ACTIEF was entrusted with PHP 51.065 million scholarship funds, which the Ombudsman said was prejudicial to the government and public interest.

[17] The Ombudsman found him guilty of grave misconduct and meted him the penalty of dismissal of service but in a 10-page resolution that was promulgated on January 27, 2017, the Sandiganbayan granted the motion to quash information filed by Abellanosa, saying that the facts in the case do not constitute an offense.