2 gov’t execs sacked for graft

The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) announced yesterday the dismissal of the heads of the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) and the National Dairy Authority (NDA) after they were found guilty of violating the anti-graft and corrupt practices law.

PAGC Chairwoman Constancia De Guzman identified the dismissed officials, who have been administratively sanctioned, as Philracom chairman Jaime Dilag and NDA administrator Salvacion Bulatao.

"These two officials are actually part of the 13 top officials recommended by PAGC for punitive action, the resolutions of which have been forwarded to the Office of the President," she said during a press briefing held at the PAGC central office along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

De Guzman said some of the other officials recommended for dismissal are an undersecretary, an assistant secretary, a director, and a school superintendent. Their identities, however, were not released pending final approval from President Arroyo.

"Dilag, whose four-year term was supposed to end this August, was found to have been getting millions of Philracom money corresponding to the regular prizes and declaration fees in the Philracom-sponsored horse races and has caused numerous irregular disbursements from unclaimed dividends by clubs under the Philracom regulations (such as) the Manila Jockey Club Inc.," De Guzman said.

Bulatao’s case stemmed from an anonymous complaint about the irregular hiring of a foreign consultant for one of the projects and hiring the services of advertising and public relations agency McCann Erikson without the benefit of public bidding.

Bulatao tried to justify the hiring of a foreign consultant by presenting a certification from her project development engineers that there was no one from the existing dairy equipment suppliers in the country with a comprehensive knowledge of the milk processing and engineering requirements of the NDA plants.

But PAGC investigation showed there was strong evidence that Bulatao disregarded the government procurement law, which states that government offices have to hold public biddings for suppliers to give them the best price for the goods and services they need.

De Guzman said the two officials will face criminal charges filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.

The PAGC also announced that Toledo City, Cebu school superintendent Dr. Jose Cabantan has been suspended for three months without pay for oppression and grave abuse of authority and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officers.

The case stemmed from Cabantan’s failure to act on the appraisal reports needed for the promotion of Babylonia Ubas.