Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma is facing a complaint of graft before the Office of the Ombudsman for her alleged failure to divest from her businesses.
Lawyer Raymund Palad filed the complaint against Eisma for her alleged dishonesty, gross misconduct, graft, violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the government.
“It is mandatory for all public officials to divest all of [their] investments in any corporation or business,” Palad said in his complaint.
“This is to avoid conflict of interest in the performance of a government official’s function.”
Palad accuses Eisma of being a stockholder and director of TECO (Philippines), an SBMA locator.”
But Eisma said there was no conflict of interest on her part in representing the SBMA in a joint venture with a business locator.
She said she was simply representing SBMA’s interest in the company as a nominal shareholder of 25 qualifying shares and as a nominee director.
“The people behind this complaint would like to obfuscate the fact that TECO is owned by the Subic Bay Development and Management Corp., which is a joint venture between the SBMA and the UDC Group of Taiwan,” Eisma said.
Palad accused Eisma of acquiring more shares from TECO and had herself elected as one of the board members.