PNOC firm’s head hailed for anticorruption drive

The Office of the President-attached Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) has commended the chairman of the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) for going after alleged company scalawags in line with President Aquino’s “daang matuwid” (straight path) slogan.

In an October 8 letter, the GCC cited Gemiliano Lopez Jr., PNOC-EC chairman, “for taking the lead in ensuring that within PNOC-EC, the principles of corporate governance are pursued in the most transparent, responsible and accountable manner, and placing senior officers of the company to account before the proper authorities of the responsibilities placed upon GOCC officers under Republic Act

No. 10149,” or the GOCC Act.

Lopez, the GCC said, has complied with the “solemn duties and mandates of the PNOC-EC governing board in keeping with the President’s “daang matuwid” policy to the effect that the company, its officers and employees are firmly on this straight path and giving emphasis to transparency in the company’s financial transactions and operations.”

The commendation was signed by Cesar Villanueva, GCC chairman, and Commissioners Ma. Angela Ignacio and Rainier Butalid.

On July 16, Lopez filed with the Ombudsman graft charges against three top PNOC-EC officers for allegedly overpricing by up to 9,000 percent the renovation of the firm’s headquarters at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

The former Manila mayor named the following as case respondents: Lourdes Gelacio, vice president for corporate services; Raymundo Savela, chairman of the bids and awards committee; and Ma. Rita Dayleg, manager of the human resources and administration department.

Gelacio, Savella and Dayleg were accused of violating Section 3 of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The 2010 PNOC-EC building renovation project, which had a budget of P55 million, showed an overprice ranging from 100 to 9,000 percent, Lopez said.

“Instead of implementing the three-phase project and awarding it to a general contractor, Gelacio’s team made piecemeal contracts for each and every aspect of the project,” Lopez pointed out.

He said it was evident that the total costs incurred by Gelacio’s team were grossly overpriced.

Gelacio has dismissed the charges against her as “erroneous, baseless, unsubstantiated and malicious.”

Law was properly observed

She claimed that “the procurement law was properly observed for all contracts which were awarded to the lowest technically complying bidder. All contracts passed through the bids and awards committee.”

Last month, Lopez assailed some of his fellow top executives at PNOC-EC for allegedly covering up anomalies in the energy firm, including coal deals amounting to $10 million that it entered into during the Arroyo administration.

In a September 4 letter to Malacañang, he also reported an undisclosed number of deals-related documents were missing.

He recalled that when he first assumed his post, the filing cabinet of the PNOC-EC president only had nothing but biscuits and candies and no single file on record.

“To curtail the enormous losses incurred by the company, I relieved the then head of the coal transactions, Jose Anthony Villanueva, and temporarily stopped all coal importation activities until a new policy was eventually formulated,” he noted.

A PNOC-EC internal audit has revealed that PNOC-EC lost over P120 million in just a single coal deal in 2009.

In an October 9 letter to the PNOC-EC board of directors, Lopez said he directed that investigations be conducted after discovering suspicious activities in the company.

“One of these investigations that necessitated further action was the one headed by ex-Court of Appeals Justice Myrna Vidal, an individual suited perfectly for such assignments due to her long and storied career in the judiciary as a prosecutor, RTC judge, as well as CA Justice until her retirement and as a longtime agent of the National Bureau of Investigation.”

According to Lopez, Vidal’s probe found irregularities in the PNOC-EC building renovation project, prompting him to have the case filed by his office’s own legal department in the proper courts.

“But when it refused to follow my legal and written order, I was left no choice but to file the case to the proper court of jurisdiction in my personal capacity, lest I myself be incriminated for cover-up,” he said.