2017-03-12

All evidence points to Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairman Jose Vicente Salazar as far as corruption issues are concerned, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny

Pimentel said on Sunday (March 12).

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability which Pimentel chairs has reportedly uncovered “at least three irregularities” in Salazar’s office that involved the performance of crooked contracts even before the competitive bidding process.

“We are focusing our inquiry into the Office of the Chairman, where the fraud seems to be concentrated,” Pimentel said.

Based on initial evidence gathered by the Committee, Salazar ordered the renovation of his conference room without a public bidding, and simply demanded that he be reimbursed by the ERC.

Salazar, an appointee of former President Benigno Aquino III, on his own also obtained new pest control services for the ERC sans a bidding. This was despite the fact that the Commission already has an existing service provider.

The third anomaly involved the hiring of advertising agent Luis Morellos as ERC consultant for an audiovisual production meant for a promotional campaign featuring Salazar, who has apparently been nursing political plans.

“It would appear that the Office of the Chairman simply executed contracts, and the late Director Villa, in his capacity as head of the bids and awards panel, was just told to fix up the biddings that would validate the deals after the fact,” Pimentel said.

Lawyer Francisco Villa Jr., who headed the Commission’s bids and awards committee, committed suicide last November after being pressured to no end by ERC officials to give his nod to shady procurement contracts. Villa implicated Salazar in his suicide notes.

“As we’ve said, the committee is duty-bound to get to the bottom of these anomalies. We cannot just sweep Mr. Villa’s suicide under the rug,” Pimentel said.

The post Cong Pimentel on ERC corruption: It’s concentrated in Salazar’s office appeared first on Politiko.

Show more