THE continuing renewal of the contract of Helen Macasaet, an information technology consultant hired by the Supreme Court with the approval of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, has raised a red flag, an official has said.
Carlos Garay, the acting head of the high court’s Management Information Systems Office or MISO, told the House committee on justice that Macasaet received roughly P11 million for her services through her six-month contracts over four years.
The House committee on justice is the panel hearing the impeachment case against Sereno, who is accused of violating the Constitution.
Garay said during the impeachment hearing on Wednesday that while he signed accomplishment reports, he had no supervision or control over the consultant.
He also had no hand in drafting the terms of reference submitted to the high court’s procurement committee, which later led to Macasaet’s employment. He said those matters were handled primarily by the Office of the Chief Justice and staff member Michael Ocampo.
“I repeatedly protested personally to Attorney Mike [Ocampo] and to the Chief Justice on why there’s a continuing need for the consultant,” Garay said.
“But they said the consultant was needed. In fact, I tendered my resignation last year because there was a red flag for me as a lawyer on what’s going on.”
Ocampo disputed Garay’s statement and said the Terms of Reference was crafted with the inputs and technical knowledge of then-MISO Chief Ed Gavis. Resource speakers from the MISO, however, noted that Gavis was not primarily an IT expert.
Earlier in the proceedings, Garay questioned the employment of a generalized IT consultant such as Macasaet. He characterized the effects of Macasaet’s services on the overall judiciary system as “nothing substantial.”
“What I would need probably are specialized consultants”•consultants who have specialties in specific fields. For instance, security of information systems. Not a generalized IT consultant,” he said.
Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, member of the House justice committee, lamented Garay’s testimony, saying it was an unfortunate revelation.
“In terms of the objective set forth by the EISP, it is supposed to improve the efficiency of the Supreme Court, nothing substantial happened…They were not even participants in the drafting of the TOR,” Marcoleta said.
Committee vice chairman Vicente Veloso admonished Ocampo over the decision to recommend in the TOR the fees of Macasaet, which jumped from P100,000 per month during the first six-month contract to over P252,000 per month on the subsequent renewals. Veloso further contested the necessity of such services.
He said process servers employed by the country’s judiciary received only P15,000 a month. Process servers, like judges, are considered providers of lifeline services or services that are directly integral to the judiciary’s processes.