MANILA: The office of the Ombudsman was asked to issue a preventive suspension order against Customs Commissioner Alberto D. Lina for the abrupt last-minute cancellation of a P650-million integrated customs processing system project.
In a 10-page motion, Omniprime Marketing, Inc. sought the preventive suspension of Mr. Lina, the respondent in its July complaint for plunder, graft and corruption, and abuse of power by the head of a procuring entity.
Omniprime cited the writ of preliminary injunction handed down by the Manila Regional Trial Court on Aug. 24, which ordered the Bureau of Customs to proceed with the project that was at the contract-signing stage already when it was aborted by Mr. Lina in May.
The winning bidder for the project said the Manila court’s findings and the testimony of Customs Deputy Commissioner Angelica Sarmiento “are strong evidence sufficiently convincing to justify the imposition of preventive suspension evidence against Respondent Lina.”
It said that pending the preliminary investigation into the complaint, the Ombudsman should suspend Mr. Lina to prevent him from threatening the integrity of agency records and exposing witnesses to influence.
Contract negotiations with the winning bidder for the National Single Window 2 Project was finalized under former Commissioner John Phillip P. Sevilla in April and only needed to be signed. But Mr. Sevilla resigned on April 24 and was replaced by Mr. Lina.
Omniprime said it was caught off-guard by Mr. Lina’s issuance of a notice to the Department of Budget and Management to cancel the deal on May 6. It claimed the move was in order to benefit rival bidder E-Konek Pilipinas.
It said Mr. Lina held a 96.47% stake at the company headed by former commissioner Guillermo L. Parayno, Jr.
The National Single Window, a processing system that was supposed to be free from human intervention, was among the Philippine government’s commitments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community.
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