Ombudsman clears Binay’s wife of malversation raps
Former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay, the Vice President’s wife, has been cleared of graft and malversation charges in connection with the Makati City government’s purchase in 2001 of more than P43 million worth of hospital equipment, which were found to be overpriced.
However, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the filing of similar charges with the Sandiganbayan against other city government officials, Ospital ng Makati (OsMak) personnel and owners of Apollo Medical Equipment and Supplies.
The charges were based on two sets of purchases made from Apollo Medical. One involved P35.106 million worth of hospital beds, cabinets, and intensive-care-unit and orthopedic beds while the other covered six sterilizers worth P8.83 million.
In connection with the P35.106 million case, charges were filed against former city administrator Nicanor Santiago Jr., general services department head Ernesto Aspillaga, administrative officer Jaime de los Reyes, supply officer Conrado Pamintuan, supply and property department office chief Rudolfo Fernandez, storekeepers Eduardo de Guzman and Nestor Bulos, clerk Lilia Nonato and inspector Ligaya Ibay.
Also charged were OsMak officer in charge Ramoncito Coronel, nursing services head Lolita Valdez, nurse Althea Suico, head nurse Maria Perpetua Reyeg and Apollo Medical officials Apollo Carreon and Carmen Maano.
On the other hand, the charges against Binay, Mabel Asunio, OsMak obstetrics department chair; nurses Love Grace Bulos, Marifil Macapagal and Ma. Victoria Niere; city treasurer Luz Garcia; city accountant Dulce Cruz; and former city budget officer Virgilio Clarete were dropped.
In connection with the P8 million case, charges were filed against Asunio, Santiago, Aspillaga, Pamintuan, Valdez, Suico, Love Grace Bulos, Nestor Bulos, De los Reyes, De Guzman, Carreon, state auditor Pascualita Peñaflor and city auditor Edgardo Mamuyac.
The Ombudsman, however, cleared Binay, Fernandez, Garcia, Cruz, Clarete and OsMak staffer Mary Selene Pancho.
In clearing Binay, the Office of the Ombudsman said that she had relied in good faith on the representations made by the city officials that the transactions were regular.
In the P35 million purchase, the Ombudsman gave weight to the findings of a Commission on Audit (COA) special task force that contrary to Apollo Medical’s claim that the hospital beds and cabinets it supplied were manufactured by New Jersey-based UGM Medisys, the items were made in Taiwan by a different manufacturer.
UGM Medisys was apparently nonexistent, the COA said. The import documents covering the hospital equipment also showed that their actual cost was only P2.447 million, it added.
The receipt issued by Apollo Medical official Carreon was also found to be spurious while the company was not registered with the Bureau of Food and Drugs.
In its resolution, the Office of the Ombudsman said OsMak officials Reyeg, Suico and Caldez were liable for issuing the “strongly worded recommendation” that justified the purchase of the items supposedly manufactured by UGM Medisys and supplied by Apollo.
Their recommendation even used the same names as those contained in the brochures and specifications provided by Carreon so that it “cannot be considered as anything but a clear, notorious, inclination of preference favoring respondent Carreon,” it noted.
As for Valdez, it said she should have ensured that the recommended and specified products existed before she signed the documents for the purchase. Coronel and Santiago were also found liable since the product descriptions in their purchase request was the same as those found in Carreon’s letter-quotation which showed their partiality for Carreon.
As for Makati City officials Aspillaga, Bulos, Pamintuan and De los Reyes, they were liable because they should have seen to it that the procurement followed the proper process, especially the requirements, when it comes to dispensing with public bidding, the Office of the Ombudsman said.
Fernandez, De Guzman, Nonato and Ibay were also ordered charged for not checking the quality of the delivered equipment or whether these met required specifications. Carreon and Maano, on the other hand, were found liable for producing the falsified brochures and suppliers of the counterfeit hospital beds and cabinets.
The Office of the Omsbudsman said Santiago and Coronel should be charged because as public officers, they had custody and control over public funds, including those allotted to OsMak.
In the purchase of P8.83 million worth of sterilizers from Apollo, the COA found out that the sterilizers specified in the purchase order were different from the ones delivered and were also made by another company. In addition, three of the sterilizers were found to cost only P16,000 each while the other three cost only P13,500 each.
The Office of the Ombudsman said “there was massive conspiracy to defraud the City Government of Makati.”
It said Aspillaga, Nestor Bulos, Pamintuan and De los Reyes should have ensured that the procurement process was properly followed when public bidding was dispensed with, and should have checked the price of the sterilizers. It said there was no reason not to hold the bidding and had they done so, they would have seen Carreon’s deception.
