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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Friday, October 13, 2017
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MANILA – The Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to charge former Capiz governor Vicente Bermejo with graft and corruption for purchasing four vehicles without proper bidding.
Bermejo could be held liable for one count of violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Act, the Ombudsman said.
In Aug. 15, 2007, the provincial government of Capiz has acquired three Pajero wagons and an Isuzu Manlift truck – which were given to the Roxas City government and the Panay municipal government – through a public auction that the Phil-Pan Subic Ventures, Inc. conducted.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said the mode of vehicle purchase that Bermejo approved was “not among the modes of procurement allowed.”
“The procurement of the vehicles was not made in compliance with the provisions of the Government Procurement Reform Act, particularly the requirement of public bidding,” Carpio-Morales said.
Moreover, the P1.95 million total amount of the vehicles was made payable to Bermejo “as reimbursement,” the Ombudsman findings showed.
The Ombudsman said that the fact that the check intended for the payment of the vehicles was issued in Bermejo’s name further showed the irregularity in the purchase.
“Respondent ought to know the basic provisions of Republic Act 9184, which require procurement to undergo either competitive bidding or any of the alternative modes and to implement the law to the letter. Yet, respondent utterly disregarded these established rules,” Carpio-Morales added./PN
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