Conflict of interest case filed against SBMA chief

A lawyer has filed a graft complaint against Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator and chair Wilma Eisma for conflict of interest over her supposed stake in one of the freeport’s locators.

In a complaint filed in the Ombudsman on Monday, Raymund Palad accused Eisma of being a stockholder of Teco (Philippines) 3C & Appliances, Inc. and of sitting on its board.

The lawyer submitted Teco’s general information sheet as evidence of Eisma’s failure to divest from the business.

“There’s nothing irregular about it. It’s very funny because I hold [the position of Teco board director] in my official capacity as SBMA representative,” Eisma said, adding that the SBMA owned 49 percent of the Subic Bay Development and Management Corp. Inc., where Teco is a locator.

“I’m the official representative of the agency to the company,” she said. —Vince F. Nonato and Allan Macatuno