Army general, six others in purchase of boots suspended

MANILA, Philippines - An Army general and six other officials were suspended for six months yesterday by the Office of the Ombudsman for their alleged involvement in the anomalous purchase of 33,319 combat boots five years ago.

Brig. General Ric Brillantes, Army Supply Command chief, and lawyer Editha Santos, Army chief accountant, are accused of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the General Appropriations Act, the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, and the Administrative Code of 1987.

Also charged were Assistant Secretary Eduardo Opida, Executive Director Estanislao Granados Jr., and Directors Lourdes Santiago and Cirila Botor of the Inter-Agency Bids and Awards Committee (IABAC) of the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management along with Esterlita Necor, also of the PS-DBM.

Records of the case show that in April 2004, the IABAC-PS issued an Invitation to Apply for Eligibility and to Bid for the supply and delivery of 97,257 pairs of combat boots with an approved budget of P102,119,850.

However, the Army requested only for 33,319 pairs of combat boots with an approved budget of P39,982,800.

Only three bidders – Filboot Manufacturing Corp. with an offer of P1,047 per pair; Gibson Shoe Factory, P1,038 per pair; and Jodaar Cottage Industries, at P993.50 per pair – passed the eligibility requirement.

The IABAC-PS eventually awarded the multi-million peso contract to Filboot at P1,047 per pair for a total amount of P32,864,283.

Based on records, the government paid Filboot P1,200 per pair of 31,389 pairs of combat boots or a total of P37,666,800.

The Office of the Ombudsman ordered the PS-DBM head and Army commander Lt. Gen. Victor Ibrado to immediately implement the order of suspension. – Michael Punongbayan