Ombudsman recommends raps vs poll execs, ballot folder supplier

The Office of the Ombudsman has recommended the filing of administrative and criminal charges against Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials and private suppliers who were involved in the botched P690-million ballot secrecy folder contract. The Ombudsman recommended the filing of both graft and administrative charges against Comelec executive director Jose Tolentino and members of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) led by Assistant Director for Planning Lea Alarkon. The Ombudsman added that the poll officials should be also charged for violation of Republic Act 9184 (Procurement Law) and Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees). Criminal charges were likewise recommended against Henry and Willy Young of One Time Carbon (OTC) Paper Supply, the supplier that was awarded the controversial contract. In a 17-page decision dated July 8, the Ombudsman said that the Comelec officials may have “conspired" with the ballot folder suppliers to “infringe" certain laws in the procurement of the folders. “The existence of conspiracy may be inferred or shown from the acts of the culprits themselves before, during and after the commission of the crime," the decision read. The charges recommended by the Ombudsman are similar to the recommendation of the three-man panel headed by Comelec law department head Ferdinand Rafanan, who said that some poll officials committed an act of "negligence" by letting the contract slide. The Ombudsman has asked the poll officials involved to submit their counter affidavits. GMANews.TV tried to reach Alarkon and Tolentino for their comments, but they could not be reached as of posting time. No impeachment of poll execs Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento meanwhile said that although the case may serve as basis for an impeachment complaint against members of the Comelec en banc, the commissioners should not be held liable for the irregularities in the transaction. "If you read the entire report of the investigation panel, the conclusion is that the chairman and commissioner have not committed anything that could be impeachable or could be a criminal offense," he said. Sarmiento likewise said that it was the en banc that initiated the investigation of the contract. Comelec Chairman Jose Melo had earlier admitted that the poll body en banc and the BAC committed a lapse in judgment when they awarded to OTC the contract to supply and deliver 1,815,000 pieces of 25-inch long ballot secrecy folders for P690 million. (See: Comelec admits lapse after junking ballot folder contract) The poll body eventually scrapped the contract because it was seen as extravagant beyond the ordinary needs of the Commission. (See: Comelec cancels P690-M contract for ballot folders) The Comelec also said that the number of folders to be purchased exceeded the total number that may actually be used during the elections.—with reports from Andreo Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV