By Czarina Nicole Ong-Ki
Former Tourism Secretary Joseph Felix Mari "Ace" Hotchkiss Durano has been slapped with a graft charge before the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division due to the reportedly anomalous purchase of the P2.7 million DOT Wall Calendar back in 2008.
In the charge sheet filed by Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer III Maria Vida Hechanova, Durano was accused of violating Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act alongside several officials of the Department of Tourism (DOT).
They are former Financial Management Service Director Grace Reyes Yoro, Undersecretary Oscar Policarpio Palabyab, bids and awards committee (BAC) members Eduardo Alvarez Jarque Jr. and Adriana Mesa Flor, and Legal Affairs Office Director IV Evelyn Respicio Cajigal.
On October 17, 2008, the accused officials reportedly conspired with one another when they gave manifest partiality and unwarranted benefits to PDP Digital Inc. when they procured the DOT Wall Calendar 2009 worth P2.7 million without the conduct of public bidding.
At the same time, Durano entered into a memorandum of agreement dated October 17, 2008 with PDP Digital Inc. for the conceptualization and development of a back-to-back calendar without any recommendation from the BAC.
He then issued a certification dated December 2, 2008 identifying PDP Digital Inc. as the supplier and justified the DOT's action to engage the company's services which the BAC used to support its November 2008 resolution.
In the said resolution, the BAC Chairman and members, who are Durano's co-accused, recommended the alternative mode of procurement for PDP Digital Inc. They also justified the purchase without first conducting an industry survey to determine the supply source prior to the commencement of the procurement process to justify the lack of public bidding.
Their bail bond has been set at P30,000 each.