PHL ambassador to Nigeria faces complaint for alleged misconduct, corruption

Diplomatic staff of the Philippine Embassy in Nigeria are seeking the recall and investigation of Manila’s ambassador to the African state for alleged corrupt and unethical practices, accusations the envoy has vehemently denied.

Consular officer Elmor Maglunsod filed an official complaint against Ambassador Shirley Ho-Vicario for allegedly violating Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct of Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employee, and Republic Act No. 3019 or Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Some embassy staffers backed Maglunsod’s complaint, which they said was strongly denied by Vicario, who assumed her post in May 1, 2017 after being appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Fighting corruption and irregularities is among Duterte’s campaign promises and he has stressed how he has fired even close allies after he looked into allegations against them. He has also threatened to step down from office if any of his children and other family members are proven to have engaged in corruption.

GMA News Online sought the reaction of Vicario, 56, directly in an e-mail but has yet to respond to Maglunsod’s affidavit, which was filed before the DFA on Dec. 20, 2017. He also filed the complaint before the Office of the President’s Complaint Center and the Civil Service Commission.

In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said Duterte was taking the matter "very seriously."

"It will be investigated. The President takes this very very seriously," Roque said.

In his affidavit, Maglunsod also complained of “untoward practices” of the ambassador’s husband, Pascasio Vicario.

“I know they have many connections with the department and the government, but what they are doing is wrong and it must be stopped,” Maglunsod wrote in his complaint.

Maglunsod’s affidavit and other supporting documents attached in his complaint were furnished to GMA News Online.

“President Duterte and Secretary [Alan Peter] Cayetano are known for their fight against corruption, but it is so disheartening to see that the President’s political appointee would be doing the exact thing that he hates so much.”

In a memo to the Civil Service on Jan. 29, 2018, acting DFA Assistant Secretary for Human Resources Management, Ezzedin Tago said “the Department is currently undertaking the necessary administrative proceedings” on Maglunsod’s complaint. A copy of the memo was also provided to GMA News online.

“Personally, I can no longer stand by and watch Ambassador Vicario continue with her acts, and I would rather be recalled and sent home than serve an ambassador who steals,” Maglunsod said.

Maglunsod claimed that Vicario violated government laws “in her travels, especially the ones where her husband accompanied her.”

Maglunsod cited in his complaint an incident in Nov. 6, 2017 during a consular mission to Ghana, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire wherein Vicario allegedly asked him to donate a part of his travel allowance for embassy staffer Renie Santa Agata who recently suffered a stroke.

“When I told the Ambassador I will donate 100 US dollars only to Mr. Santa Agata, she strongly disapproved of the amount and told me to give 400 dollars,” he said.

Maglunsod said he and his two other colleagues who were part of the mission contributed $700 each, which amounted to $2,100. Of this amount, $1,000 was used to pay for the airfare of Vicario’s husband, who accompanied his wife to the trip, while the remaining $1,100 was used for the delegation’s expenses, such as meals, transportation, hotel stay, and other miscellaneous expenses, including that of the ambassador’s, Manglunsod said.

Under DFA regulations, the diplomatic staffers said, spouses of diplomats, except during the official presentation of credentials to a host country, should pay for their own travel expenses.

“Throughout the consular mission, she claimed that she paid for lunch and dinner meetings with the Filipino community, bought gifts for certain groups, individuals, and companies. But the truth is, she never paid a single cent,” Maglunsod said.

He claimed that Vicario “just collected all the receipts, certified it as however she sees fit, and reimbursed the receipts.”

“It was actually the Filipino community who paid for the food during the meetings and gatherings and transportation of the ambassador during her tours,” he added.

Maglunsod said Section 3(b) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, public officials and employees are “prohibited to solicit, accept, directly or indirectly request or receive any gift for himself or for any other person.”

He also alleged that every time Vicario goes to other countries under her jurisdiction, “all the ambassador ever does aside from brief meetings with the Filipino community are shopping, collecting souvenirs, and taking advantage of people where they can gain profit and materialize their personal interest.”

Maglunsod alleged Vicario would always threaten embassy staffers to be recalled if they don’t follow her orders.

“In almost all the staff meetings, Ambassador Vicario would emphasize that as ambassador, she had all the power and authority to do whatever she desires, and that the Department will not listen to low ranking employees nor accommodate our complaint,” he said.

Embassy staffers also complained that Vicario is rarely at the embassy and would allegedly always overstay in certain countries during consular visits.

Consular missions are aimed at reaching out and extending embassy services to overseas Filipino workers and are normally done by consular staff members.

“The operations of the embassy are affected because she is always out of the embassy and outside Nigeria. She’s not doing her job. Her actions are unbecoming of an ambassador and it’s affecting the image of the embassy,” one of the staffers said.

They also complained of Vicario’s husband’s rude treatment of embassy staffers and his interference in embassy affairs.  

Based on her curriculum vitae, this is the second time that Vicario was appointed as political ambassador, having served during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as envoy to Papua New Guinea in Feb. 15, 2007 until she was recalled by President Benigno Aquino III in Sept. 30, 2010. —ALG/MDM, GMA News