NPO begins crackdown on erring printing firms

The National Printing Office (NPO) has intensified its crackdown on delinquent printing companies involved in anomalous contracts with the government.

NPO officer-in-charge Marietta de Guzman said the crackdown started with the filing of charges against a printing firm which allegedly cheated the Land Transportation Office (LTO) of over P4.3 million of "substandard" printed materials.

Charges of graft, estafa, and falsification were filed against BestForms Inc. before the Quezon City Prosecutors Office for using ordinary book paper, instead of the required security paper material, in printing and delivering Certificate of Registration (CR) forms used by the LTO as proof of vehicle ownership.

BestForms is a sister corporation of the Printwell printing conglomerate, one of the largest printing corporations in the Philippines owned by the Joseph Yam family. BestForms is led by Benjamin Yam as president and chief executive officer, who was named respondent in the complaint along with Faustino Datu Jr., sales manager.

The Parañaque-based printing firm became involved in a row with the NPO following the discovery of its allegedly fraudulent deliveries.

From 2002 to 2006, NPO awarded BestForms several contracts to print, using security paper, more than two million pieces of LTO-CR forms whose request for printing was made by then LTO chief Roberto Lastimoso.

De Guzman said the LTO sought the help of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a probe on the quality of the paper used in the forms.

Tests later confirmed the suspicions that BestForms allegedly used ordinary book paper instead of a special kind of paper, which is more expensive in printing out the forms. – Karlo Baylosis