DOLE official charged with graft

GRAFT charges were filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against the Regional Director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the Cordillera Administrative Region for buying office supplies without the benefit of public bidding. In an 11-page resolution of the Ombudsman, signed and approved by Ombudsman Maria Merceditas Navarro-Gutierrez, indicted in court for committing three counts of violation of the Republic Act 3019, or
the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act is Aida Estabillo.

Probable cause was found against Estabillo after a probe made by Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer II Irmina Bautista and was affirmed by acting Director Joaquin Salazar.

“Wherefore, premises considered, it is respectfully recommended that respondent Aida M. Estabillo be indicted for three counts of violation of Section 3 par. E of RA [Republic Act] 3019. Accordingly, it is further recommended that the corresponding information be filed against her in court,” the ruling states.

In the complaint filed by Robert Alagon, an employee of Labor department, it was alleged that on
December 2004 Estabillo purchased 1 unit of IBM Thinkpad with accessories at a cost of P111,000 and one Infocus X2 multimedia projector with accessories at a cost of P115,000 from Infonet Computer Services Inc.

In February 2005, several conference tables and chairs amounting to P242,950 were also purchased from Ergonomic System Philippines Inc. and Estabillo also bought conference discussion and entertainment system with accessories at a cost of P285,500 from Metrohouse Business Solutions Corp.

Alagon claimed that in the said purchase transactions, Estabillo was the sole canvasser and approving authority, which is in violation of Section 50 of the Government Accounting and Auditing Manual.

The Office of the Ombudsman gave credence to the claim of the complainant after Estabillo “failed to controvert the pieces of evidence offered by the complainant.”

It also pointed out that there was no evidence that respondent conducted a canvass from at least three suppliers for each kind of equipment as records show only one supplier and one quotation for each kind of equipment. –JOMAR CANLAS REPORTER, Manila Times