Bislig City mayor ordered dismissed for anomalous purchase of excavator

Bislig City Mayor Librado Navarro of Surigao del Sur was ordered dismissed from service by the Ombudsman over the allegedly anomalous purchase of a hydraulic excavator in 2012.

In a statement on Monday, the Office of the Ombudsman said it dismissed Navarro for Grave Misconduct for the anomalous 2012 purchase of a hydraulic excavator worth P14.75 million.

Navarro was also meted with the accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in the government service.

His dismissal stemmed from the city government’s purchase of a P14.75-million Komatsu crawler-type hydraulic excavator from RDAK Transport Equipment Inc., which the Commission on Audit (COA) found non-compliant with the technical specifications on engine power, bucket capacity and operating weight.

The COA issued a notice of disallowance after finding out that the RDAK failed to truthfully present the specifications of the Komatsu unit in its bid.

The Ombudsman also ordered dismissed Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chairman Charlito Lerog (City Administrator); BAC members City Treasurer Roberto Viduya, City Planning Development Coordinator Aprodecio Alba Jr., General Services Officer Felipe Sabaldan Jr., City Budget Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Belma Lomantas, OIC-City Engineer Lorna Salgado, and City Legal Officer Daisy Ronquillo; and Technical Working Group (TWG) members City Accountant Raquel Bautista, Gilbert Abugan, Laila Manlucob, and Estefa Mata.

“(T)he TWG’s manipulation of data in its report; the award of the supply contract to RDAK despite the fact that it did not truthfully present in its bid the Komatsu PC200-8’s specifications, and the bidding was a failure as none of the bidders’ proposals were responsive; coupled with respondents going for RDAK’s less superior unit notwithstanding its glaringly higher price, all show respondents’ bad faith and manifest partiality toward the said supplier,” the Ombudsman said in its decision.

“By respondent’s concerted acts clearly favoring RDAK, they accorded it the benefit, advantage and preference it did not deserve. Such acts are clearly willful in character and evince respondents’ flagrant disregard of their duty to protect the public interest,” it added.

According to the Ombudsman, misconduct is the unlawful behavior or gross negligence by a public officer. The misconduct is grave if it involves elements of corruption, such as willful intent to violate the law or to disregard established rules.