Ombudsman axes PNU execs over ad spending

The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed Philippine Normal University (PNU) president Ester Ogena and three other officials for grave misconduct over a $25,000 (around P1.25 million) advertorial contract with an international magazine in 2011.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales imposed a lifetime ban from government employment against Ogena, PNU vice president for finance and administration Rebecca Nueva España, financial management director Joseph Luceño, and budget office head Florence Allejos.

The Ombudsman cited “substantial evidence” that the state-owned PNU entered into the ad contract with Foreign Policy magazine without a competitive bidding.

The deal was also not included in PNU’s annual procurement plan for 2011, in violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The expenditure also ran counter to austerity measures under Administrative Order (AO) No. 103 issued during the Arroyo administration, which directed government agencies to rein in ad spending that does not involve the publication of agency rules and guidelines.

In April 2011, then Commission on Higher Education Chair Patricia Licuanan wrote a letter recommending that PNU take out an ad in the magazine’s special issue on Asian universities.

The Ombudsman rejected Ogena’s argument that the advertorial was exempted from bidding since it was “impracticable if not legally impossible.”

Ogena also claimed the ad did not violate the AO as it “propelled PNU to international recognition [which] continues to translate to several economic benefits.”