THE Office of the Ombudsman has upheld a Feb. 5, 2024 order dismissing Demosthenes Escoto as national director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for alleged irregularities related to a P2.1-billion contract for the vessel monitoring system project in 2018.
The anti-graft body affirmed Escoto’s indictment together with former Agriculture undersecretary and BFAR national director Eduardo Gongona, and British national Simon Tucker of SRT Marine Systems Solutions Ltd., on four counts of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires signed the eight-page joint order on Oct. 2, 2024, denying Escoto’s motion for reconsideration.
Escoto had assailed the findings of the panel of investigators, citing lack of evidence to support a criminal indictment and absence of proof of conspiracy between him and his co-respondents. He said he was also singled out since other officials in the BFAR Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), who took part in the procurement deal, were left out.
The Ombudsman said Escoto’s “probable guilt and administrative liability has been established” through his participation in a scheme to favor SRT-France and SRT-UK.
“His actions, minute or substantial, were all instrumental in the success of the anomalous scheme that led to the award of the contract to SRT-UK. No amount of failure on the part of the complainant to include other individuals in the charge could undermine that,” the Ombudsman ruled.
GRAVE MISCONDUCT
Escoto was dismissed from service after being found guilty of grave misconduct. In his place, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. appointed career official Isidro Velayo Jr. as officer-in-charge of BFAR.
The dismissal carries accessory penalties, including the cancellation of civil service eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, perpetual disqualification from holding public office, and a ban on taking civil service examinations.
The case against Escoto stemmed from his role as BAC chair. The Ombudsman said it found substantial evidence of “grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service” against him.
According to the panel of graft investigators, Escoto facilitated the awarding of the contract to United Kingdom-based SRT Marine Systems Solutions Ltd. (SRT-UK) for the Integrated Marine Environment Monitoring System Project Phase 1, also known as the PHILO Project.
The project was supposed to “enhance the (Philippine) government’s capability to safeguard and monitor the country’s marine resources and to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities.”
Under the agreement, the loan will be paid in 30 years at an interest rate of 0.115 percent per year subject to a condition that the equipment supplier must be a French company.
During a bidding in December 2017, two French firms participated: the Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) and SRT-France, a subsidiary of SRT-United Kingdom that was incorporated in France on Nov. 15, 2017.
The BFAR’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) disqualified CLS and the contract was awarded to SRT-France. However, the Economic Department of the French Embassy in the Philippines declared SRT-France unqualified under the terms of the Financial Protocol due to lack of record of any manufacturing or engineering facilities in France.
While the French government notified the Philippines that it is still willing to discuss alternatives, the DA-BFAR instead recommended the closure of the French loan, to source the project funding from foreign assistance to local and increasing the budget to P2.099 billion from P1.676 billion.
The contract was eventually awarded to SRT-UK.
The Ombudsman found that Escoto, in his official capacity as BAC chair, granted “unwarranted benefits” to both SRT-France and SRT-UK. Despite SRT-France’s ineligibility, he allowed it to participate in the bidding process and be post-qualified.
Although the contract with SRT-France was eventually canceled, the Ombudsman said the government was bound to a larger financial commitment than initially planned in the procurement of 5,000 VMS transceivers instead of the original plan for acquiring only 3,736 units.
“This is a contractual obligation that is grossly disadvantageous to the government and unreasonably beneficial to SRT-UK,” the Ombudsman said.
Escoto was earlier cited in contempt of court by the Malabon Regional Trial Court for pushing to implement the Fisheries Administrative Order No. 266 despite the injunction issued on the finding that it was “unconstitutional.”
