MANILA, Philippines – Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia was ordered dismissed from service by the Office of the Ombudsman over graft charges for the illegal procurement of office furniture and fixtures worth P49.059 million.

In a statement released on Monday, January 16, the Ombudsman said it also ordered the dismissal of 8 other Bacolod City officials:

• Goldwyn Nifras (secretary to the mayor)
• Luzviminda Treyes (city budget officer)
• Nelson Sedillo Sr (head of Department of Public Services)
• Belly Aguillon, Aladino Agbones, and Jaries Ebenizer Encabo (all city engineers)
• Eduardo Ravena (city accountant)
• Annabelle Badajos (city treasurer)

The city government of Bacolod, through Leonardia and the 8 other officials, bought furniture and fixtures from Comfac Corporation in 2008 for P49,059,696.81.

The Ombudsman’s investigation showed there were several bidding irregularities, such as treating Comfac’s P500,000 bidder’s bond as the performance bond.

The bidder’s bond acts as a guarantee that the winning bidder will enter into a contract with the procuring office, while the performance bond is the guarantee that the winning bidder will comply with its obligations.

The performance bond was supposed to be more than P2 million, thus treating the P500,000 bidder’s bond as the performance bond exposed the city government to the risk that Comfac would not fulfill all of its obligations.

Comfac later committed repeated delays in delivery, but the Ombudsman said the city government failed “to exercise due diligence in the computation of liquidated damages against the supplier.”

The city government also violated the Government Procurement Reform Act, according to the Ombudsman, when it issued a mere purchase order instead of a contract.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said that had Leonardia “performed his supervisory duty, he would have noticed deviations from the requirements of the procurement law and rules, and corrected them.”

Leonardia and the 8 other officials were found guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty. They are perpetually disqualified from holding public office, plus their retirement benefits are forfeited and their civil service eligibility cancelled.

They will also face trial before the Sandiganbayan for graft charges. – Rappler.com