The Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to charge top school officials of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019). Haled to the Sandiganbayan are former President Benjamin Tayabas together with Jose Roy III, Domingo Nuñez, Angelita Solis, Virginia Santos, Eloisa Macalinao, Alfredo Ferrer, Jr., Cecilia Calma, Angeles Ramos, Lawrence Villanueva, Felix Aspiras, Albert Dela Cruz and Justina Bontuyan.
The charges stemmed from the illegal procurement of a Hyundai Starex van worth P1.1 million in 2006 as the Ombudsman found that no public bidding was conducted by university officials. Instead, they unlawfully resorted to Direct Contracting as a mode of procurement, hence, the Commission on Audit issued a Notice of Suspension citing non-compliance with procurement regulations and the lack of the university’s annual procurement plan.
According to the Ombudsman, “respondents admit that they did not comply with the requirements of public bidding as they opted to use direct contracting as a mode of procurement. The Office added that “respondents deliberately disregarded the requirements of R.A. 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) to favor and give benefits to the dealer of Hyundai Starex van.” ###