INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Former Manila Mayor Francisco ”Isko Moreno” Domagoso and incumbent Mayor Honey Lacuna are facing plunder and other charges filed by a former opponent in the city’s 2022 mayoral race at the Office of the Ombudsman, over the the no-contact apprehension program (NCAP) in the city.
In the 44-page complaint filed on Thursday at the Ombudsman, Alexander Lopez accused Lacuna and her predecessor Domagoso of allegedly committing plunder, graft, “abuse of authority and oppression,” and violating the Government Procurement Reform Act and the Data Privacy Act for the city’s NCAP.
Manila’s NCAP was enacted through a 2020 city ordinance, approved during Lacuna’s term as vice mayor presiding over the city council.
Lopez said in his complaint that the NCAP was “carried out or implemented” through the private-public partnership by entering into a contract with QPAX Traffic Systems Inc. for the city’s systems in monitoring traffic violations.
Reacting to the complaint, Domagoso said: “I wish him well and good luck.”
To date, the temporary restraining order of the Supreme Court on the NCAP implementation is still in effect and its oral arguments are set to be held in December this year.
The complaint also alleged that QPAX Traffic Systems was “the one enforcing the law and receiving a percentage share in the penalties of traffic violations,” which Lopez attributed as a violation of the antigraft law.
He also said that the idea of QPAX being the “enforcer” of the NCAP in Manila was an “illegal act” and that Lacuna “has not complied” with the procurement law “in publicizing what the contract was about …”
“Based on our personal knowledge, there is no publication; Based on our personal knowledge, there is no public bidding; Based on our personal knowledge, there is no publication of the penalties” imposed on violators caught through NCAP, Lopez said in his complaint. INQ