NPO officials face complaints for alleged P197 million ballot printing transaction

Several National Printing Office (NPO) officials are facing complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman for an alleged P197 million transaction with a private printing company for the printing of ballots for the May 2022 elections.

DzBB's Luisito Santos reported that anti-corruption organization Task Force Kasanag-International (TFK) filed plunder, graft and corruption, grave misconduct, and gross neglect of duty complaints against NPO Director IV Carlos Bathan, and NPO officials Engr. Benedicto Cabral, Yolanda Marcelo, and Leah Dela Cruz.

Complaints were likewise filed against Holy Family Printing Corporation President Leopoldo Gomez.

TFK President John Chiong alleged that the NPO agreed to refund the P197 million income of the government from a deal with the Holy Family Printing Corp. for the printing of ballots for the May 2022 national and local elections.

TFK said that based on the joint revenue and revenue sharing agreement between the NPO and Holy Family Printing, the NPO was supposed to earn P2 per ballot and 16.88% of the income from the printing of ballots, while 83.11% would go to Holy Family.

Despite this, the Holy Family Printing Corp. allegedly still charged the NPO for the 16% that was supposed to be the printing offices' earnings.

Chiong also said that the said transaction with a private company had to initially pass through the Commission on Audit, and should not have been directly dealt with by the NPO.

No transactions

In response, Bathan called the complaints “unfair and malicious,” saying he had not yet authorized any transactions regarding a joint venture agreement.

“To set the record straight, the present leadership of NPO has not yet signed nor authorized any transaction, bidding, or replicate the questionable joint venture scheme. Hence, the case filed by Mr. John Chiong is grossly unfair and malicious,” the NPO official said in a statement on Friday.

Bathan said the NPO is conducting “open and competitive biddings” according to the provisions of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

He alleged that those who no longer benefit from the bidding “are now behind the demolition campaign against the NPO officials and its director.”

With this, Bathan said that he has instructed legal officers to deal with the matter and file counter charges if warranted.

“I have also instructed that all previous contracts and agreements of NPO be reviewed and if there are violations, we will hold the abusive personnel accountable including those outside NPO who are extorting money from the printers, contributing to the malpractices and blocking our programs to improve NPO,” he added. — DVM/KBK, GMA News