MOLAVE, Zamboanga del Sur —Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered last week the dismissal from the service of eight employees in this first class municipality who her office found guilty of anomalous purchase of medicines worth some P2 million.
The ousted employees were Molave town accountant Matin Blanco Jr., his assistant Eleuterio Galleto, and Bids and Award Committee members Gasmelba Felicitas, Marcos Bahinting, Melita de los Santos, Nikki Omboy, Jerry Gene de los Santos and Lina Lou Gitalan.
The accused were found to have been involved in the irregular purchase of overpriced medicines in 2009, according to Morales who directed the town mayor to immediately enforce the order.
Commission on Audit findings showed that “the medicines were overpriced by as much as 152 to 836 percent even as the process did not undergo public bidding, no eligibility check done, and no bid bonds from the bidders.”
The delivery, inspection and payment for the questionable medicine were also processed in one day after the opening of the bids, CoA said, adding it also discovered that P1.2 million worth of the purchased medicines “were still undelivered during the auditing process.”
The state audit body also noted that the purchased medicines included Vitamin A capsules “worth P645,000 which were provided free by the Department of Health,” said Morales who consequently canceled the dismissed employees’ eligibilities, forfeited their retirement benefits and perpetually disqualified them from reemployment in other local or national government service.