MANILA, Philippines - Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered yesterday the indictment for graft of former Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) chief Teresita Manzala and four incumbent officials of the agency before the Sandiganbayan.
The Office of the Ombudsman said the graft charges stemmed from their alleged involvement in an anomalous lease contract for the PRC regional office in CTLL Building along Kisad Road in Baguio City in 2012.
To be charged with Manzala are PRC Commissioner Alfredo Po, regional director Teofilo Gaius Sison Jr., supervising professional regulations officer Tricia Camara and chief professional regulations officer Sarah Edna Tabije.
Sison and Tabije were ordered dismissed from the service after they were found liable for grave misconduct.
They were barred from holding any public office and their retirement benefits forfeited.
Ombudsman investigators found that the respondents approved a lease contract for 15 months and paid over P6.6 million at a monthly rate of P431,309 in rental fees, advance rentals and deposits without complying with the Government Procurement Reform Act.
“The respondents’ actions indicate their preference for CTLL Building. They circumvented the procurement process to ensure its selection as PRC’s satellite office in Baguio City,” the anti-graft agency said.
Po was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation in an entrapment operation in 2012 after he allegedly accepted P42,000 in monthly commission and P394,000 broker’s commission from lawyer Ernesto delos Santos, owner of CTLL Building.
Po allegedly demanded the money in exchange for the approval of the contract in favor of Delos Santos.