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Friday, March 29, 2024

Diokno, other BSP officials sued for graft

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Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno is facing a graft complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman for a P1.75-billion contract to a private company without public bidding for the national ID system implementation.

Ricardo Fulgencio IV of Stop Corruption Organization of the Philippines Inc. sued Diokno and other BSP officials, bids and awards committee members, for requiring the bidders, including the winning bidder Allcard International, "to procure raw materials, such as diffractive optically variable image device (DOVID) materials and polycarbonate sheets, from OVD Kinegram, giving the latter undue advantage in the process."

He cited Section 6, Paragraph A (e.) page 9 of the Terms of Reference of the contract stating that “Coordinate with Kinegram on the arrangements to be made for the delivery and supply of the DOVID (in rolls or in sheets) and its compatible raw materials directly from Kinegram to the BSP for the production of 116 million pieces of pre-personalized PhilID cards.”

“[The] respondents’ act of requiring the bidders to procure their raw materials from OVD Kinegram AG effectively gave the latter, a private party, unwarranted benefits.  The respondents’ preference to Kinegram deprived other DOVID suppliers of the opportunity to bid for the project and robbed the government of getting the most advantageous terms for the supply of such raw materials,” Fulgencio said.

“Clearly, this is a corrupt practice. Henceforth, it is respectfully prayed before this Honorable Office that after the requisite preliminary investigation, criminal information against the herein respondents be filed before the Sandiganbayan,” he added.

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The other respondents were Prudence Angelita Kasala, Rogel Joseph del Rosario, Carl Cesar Bibat, Marianne Santos, Salvador del Mundo and Giovanni Israel Joson.

“Evidently, public officers conspiring with private bidders to employ schemes which tend to restrain the natural rivalry of the parties to stifle or suppress competition and thus produce a result disadvantageous to the public are criminally liable,” the complainant said.

Diokno was discharged Wednesday from the hospital after going through a medical procedure to address a blood clot due to a minor head accident.

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