Graft raps filed vs. PNOC execs over ‘anomalous’ contract

Graft and corruption charges were filed against top officials of the Philippine National Oil Co. Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) for allegedly implementing a "highly anomalous" petroleum trading contract with a company based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

PNOC-EC President and CEO Pedro A. Aquino Jr. and board of directors Rafael M. Iriarte, Ralph Pastor A. Salazar, Joseph Loreto Emnas, Fernando Petilla, and Fernando L. Zulueta were charged before the Ombudsman by Bernardo V. Lopez, a university professor, on Friday.

In his complaint-affidavit, Lopez alleged that Aquino willfully disregarded an order issued by then Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa on October 5, 2015 to hold in abeyance its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Pionaire Finance Ltd.

"Aquino also disregarded the position taken by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) which warned it to undertake due diligence on Pionaire as a trading partner as required by law," the complainant said.

Lopez also accused other PNOC-EC officials of "conspiring with one another and with private respondent BVI-based Pionaire Finance Ltd. for failing to faithfully observe and perform their duties and responsibilities with the extraordinary diligence required of them by law."

"No less than PNOC-EC chairman Gemiliano Lopez brought to Malacañang’s attention the gross insubordination shown by Aquino and the PNOC board in failing to practice due diligence on Pionaire as a trade partner," he said.

Lopez stressed that had Aquino and the rest of the respondents undertaken due diligence, as required by law and as stressed by the OGCC, they would have discovered the following:

• That Pionaire misrepresented its claim that it was already a company registered in Hong Kong when it signed the MOU with PNOC EC on August 25, 2016. Pionaire was found to have only registered in HK on Oct. 4, 2015 or six weeks after the MOU signing.
• That Pionaire was found to be actually based in BVI and not Hong Kong, a known money laundering and tax haven for scammers and con artists and companies with dubious operations.
• That Pionaire is grossly undercapitalized with only a total authorized capital stock of $50,000.
• That Pionaire misrepresented itself as a petroleum trading company when it is just a financing firm.
• That while Pionaire itself has not provided proof that it is authorized and registered to do business in the Philippines, Asllan Jaku himself does not have the legal personality to sign the MOU on behalf of Pionaire.

“The jurisdiction of the BVI, known for its lax laws and regulations on corporations leaves little to no means of verification of Pionaire’s corporate activities,” said Lopez in his complaint-affidavit.

“With its limited authorized capital stock, it does not appear that Pionaire is financially capable of the undertaking as a secure partner in petroleum-trading activities as contained in the MOU," he added.

Nothing anomalous

Sought for comment, Aquino noted that the OGCC already reviewed the contract and found nothing anomalous.

"Pina-review naman namin 'yung kontrata sa kanila ang they found nothing anomalous in the contract. In fact, in order to safeguard the interest of the company, the opinion of the OGCC states that any subsequent contract that the PNOC-EC will enter into will have to be reviewed by the OGCC and approved by the board," Aquino said.

"At saka isa pa, wala pang nada-done na deal ito kaya what's anomalous there? Walang pang business, wala pang natetrade, wala pang nata-transact," the respondent added.

Aquino said that he has not received a copy of the complaint yet.

PNOC-EC is the corporate arm of the national government in charge of energy exploration of natural gas, petroleum and coal resources of the country.

It is also part of the service contract No. 38 consortium which runs the Malampaya natural gas fields. —ALG, GMA News