Nayong Pilipino Foundation chair rebuts charges of board member

Maria Fema T. Duterte

Patricia Yvette Ocampo, chair of the board of trustees (BOT) of Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF), has sent the Inquirer through her lawyer a written response rebutting all the charges that her fellow NPF board member, Maria Fema Duterte, filed in the Office of the Ombudsman on May 2.

Duterte’s complaints against Ocampo and seven other NPF board members include violations of Republic Act (RA) No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; RA 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officials; and civil service rules covering dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, grave misconduct, inefficiency and incompetence.

On March 21, Duterte filed her first complaint against Ocampo for “administrative infractions” for refusing to act on President Duterte’s decision to nominate her as executive director of the NPF.

In her statement, Ocampo said Duterte had a “desire letter” signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

“However, pursuant to PD (Presidential Decree No.) 37, the charter [that] created the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, the executive director (ED) is elected among the members of the board,” Ocampo said.

Transition team

“Thus, it was necessary to convene the board … December being a holiday season, the next board meeting was set [for] January 2018 and the election of the ED as part of the agenda,” she said.

“After being informed of Fema’s (Duterte’s) appointment, chair Ocampo sent her a text message to invite her to the NPF’s Christmas party. [Duterte] did not reply but instead sent her ‘transition team’ composed of Paul Chua and his company, to NPF Clark Park and met with the NPF personnel only to tell them that the true chairperson of NPF is [Secretary] Wanda Teo and not Ms Ocampo,” she said.

“During the first weeks of January 2018, [Duterte] herself attempted to ‘convene’ her own board meeting without inviting chair Ocampo and the other members of the board. When she could not ‘convene’ her rump board for lack of quorum, she vented her resentments on social media and started spewing malicious statements against the BOT and chair Ocampo, calling them ‘corrupt.’ This was the reason why chair Ocampo brought her complaint of cyberlibel to the National Bureau of Investigation in the latter part of January,” she said.

“In spite of these events, the board meeting of NPF pushed through on Jan. 30, 2018, but the agenda on the election of ED was deferred due to the NBI cyberlibel case. But the board did acknowledge her appointment as member. It was never because the board and chair Ocampo disregarded the nomination of the President,” she said.

The cyberlibel case, Ocampo added, has not been dismissed.

On the charge of having incurred “unnecessary, extravagant expenses,” Ocampo explained that “[Duterte] appears to be citing an audit observation memorandum (AOM) from the COA (Commission on Audit). AOMs are confidential communications between the management of NPF and COA … interlocutory and are still subject to rebuttal and clarification from the management,” she said.

On the NPF board’s approval of a proposal from a Chinese-owned company, Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp. (LRPDC), for the lease and development of what is dubbed as “Nayong Pilipino Theme Park, Water Park, and Movie-based Theme Park” without an independent appraisal and public notice, Ocampo said “the costs … shall be shouldered exclusively by LRPDC without any expense from the government.”

Funding

She added: “Since the NPF does not get a single centavo from the government, it has to source funds on its own. And one of these sources would be the lease of its landholdings.”

Ocampo stressed that the project “will significantly boost the Philippine economy in terms of substantial increase in tourism and tax revenue without the necessary expense from the Philippine government.”

“Unlike the other adjacent casinos or resorts operating in the vicinity, the theme park [that] LRPDC will build will showcase Filipino heritage, indigenous culture, replicas of the country’s landmarks, and its products … Partnerships with local governments which have cottage industries and products shall likewise be forged and will be have significant involvement in the theme park,” she said.

Ocampo asked: “Where, therefore, is the disadvantage to the government? Is [Duterte] protecting the interests of the other resort owners who do not wish to have another ‘competing entity’ in the vicinity?”