DESPITE a Palace official admission that the National Printing Office (NPO) has been effective in printing ballots and has even saved millions in government funds in the past elections, why have all heads of that agency face cases?
NPO Director Emmanuel Andaya, Chief Administrative Officer Sylvia Banda, Supervising Administrative Officer Bernadette Lagumen, Printing Operations Chief Josefina Samson, Printing Operations Chief Antonio Sillona and Printing Operations Assistant Chief Maria Zita Gracia Enriquez have been charged with graft by a blacklisted supplier of the NPO after they had approved a contract to supply the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) P1.9 million worth of travel-clearance certificates on November 18, 2010.
The respondents, who are still waiting the court’s final judgment, said the NBI had agreed to pay P1.9 million to NPO for the printing of 1,000 boxes of travel-clearance certificate, as the agency was running low on supply of the form needed by Filipinos traveling abroad.
The NPO officials also said that subcontracting is not a prohibited activity under Republic Act 9184 (revised procurement law).
In their defense, the officials said “[as members of] BAC [bids and awards committee] [we] resorted to emergency procurement considering the urgency of the subject purchase order.”
For its part, the NBI said that supply contact was aboveboard.
A former supplier of the NPO has filed at least 60 cases against these officials and the Office of the Ombudsman only took credence in the said cases. However, in July last year, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered the dismissal of these officials.
Meanwhile, Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. assured the public that cases filed against officials of the NPO will not hamper the printing of the elections ballots.
“Unless and until their dismissal becomes final and executory, they have to stay put,” Coloma said.
“They cannot just leave their job. That’s against the law,” Coloma said.
With just few months left before the elections, Coloma said these NPO officials are needed for the agency’s “operational efficiency” as the government printing office began the printing of 55.6 million official ballots.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said that printing of ballots should have started on February 8, but was postponed to February 15 because of technical problems.
The poll body also said the May 2016 elections may be postponed if these delays continue.
The NPO is an attached agency of the Presidential Communications Operations Office pursuant to Executive Order 4, Series of 2010.
“If we may recall, in the May 2013 national elections, the NPO was able to print and deliver 52 million official ballots in just 57 days, or three weeks earlier than the target completion date set by the Comelec,” Coloma added.
Also last elections, Coloma said the NPO finished the printing of ballot that was P230 million lower than the estimated budget.
“Moreover, savings of up to P35 million were attained in cost of paper and there was no need for the Comelec to spend for the paper used in the printing of ballots for the barangay elections in October 2013,” he said.