Ni: Rommel P. Tabbad
Dahil sa maanomalyang pagbili ng hydraulic excavator na nagkakahalaga ng P14,750,000 noong 2012, sinibak ng Office of the Ombudsman sa serbisyo si Bislig City, Surigao del Sur Mayor Librado Navarro at 11 pang opisyal.
Bukod kay Navarro, kabilang din sa tinanggal sa serbisyo sina Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Chairman Charlito Lerog; BAC members na sina City Treasurer Roberto Viduya, City Planning Development Coordinator Aprodecio Alba Jr., General Services Officer Felipe Sabaldan Jr., City Budget Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Belma Lomantas, OIC-City Engineer Lorna Salgado, at City Legal Officer Daisy Ronquillo; at Technical Working Group (TWG) members City Accountant Raquel Bautista, Gilbert Abugan, Laila Manlucob, at Estefa Mata.
Napatunayan ng Ombudsman na nagkasala ang 12 sa grave misconduct na saklaw ng kasong administratibo.
Sa desisyon ng Ombudsmanm, bukod sa alkalde ay kinansela rin ng anti-graft agency ang civil service eligibility ng 11 pa, gayundin ang kanilang retirement benefits, at pinagbawalan na rin silang magtrabaho pa sa pamahalaan.
Nag-ugat ang kaso sa pagbili ng pamahalaan sa nasabing heavy equipment sa RDAK Transport Equipment, Inc. noong Hulyo 18, 2012, dahil na rin sa paglabag nito sa alituntunin ng pamahalaan sa naturang transaksiyon.
“The TWG’s manipulation of data in its report; the award of the supply contract to RDAK despite the fact that it did not truthfully present in its bid the Komatsu PC200-8’s specifications, and the bidding was a failure as none of the bidders’ proposals were responsive; coupled with respondents going for RDAK’s less superior unit notwithstanding its glaringly higher price, all show respondents’ bad faith and manifest partiality toward the said supplier,” ayon pa sa Ombudsman.