Former DOT Undersecretary happy on Ombudsman impeachment!

Insiders from the Department of Tourism have indicated that former Undersecretary Theresa Ilagan Martinez had expressed happiness over the move of Congress to impeach Ombudsman Merceditas Guiterrez.

Martinez who was removed from Office by the Ombudsman for practicing Nepotism is currently appealing the decision and trying to reverse it with the help of her patron who seats as one of the Board Members of the Foundation of former President Fidel V. Ramos.

DOT employees feel that a return of Martinez to the Department will derail the reorganization moves to prepare the DOT for future campaigns. It will be noted that upon the assumption of Bertie Lim to the Office of Secretary of the Department of Tourism, he promoted Martinez to the rank of Undersecretary without looking into her background. Martinez on the other hand filled all the positions in the DOT with her allies and ensured that Lim would be surrounded by people loyal to her like Undersecretary Jasmin and the current Director of the DOT Special Concerns Office.

Martinez at the onset of Lim’s appointment was heard to claim that she had the full trust and confidence of Secretary Alberto Lim and nothing goes to him without her approval or being consulted.

Her removal from office was a result of the a case filed by the head of the DOT Employees Cooperative back in 2007 where it was found that she had a direct hand in having her brother Mario ILagan hired in the San Francisco Office of the Department. The employee who filed the case has since died.

Interested to learn more about this topic? Read our older posts!

PNOY promotes corrupt tourism official to Undersecretary

Corrupt DOT Undersecretary guilty of NEPOTISM – Ombudsman

Another PNOY government official accused of NEPOTISM

Another official of the Aquino government has been accused of Nepotism. Sources within the Department of Foreign Affairs have indicated that a certain Assistant Secretary Catalino Dilem Jr. had hired his relatives to work in the DFA. It was revealed that Assistant Secretary Dilem Jr. who happens to head the Office for Personnel and Administrative Services (OPAS) of the DFA facilitated the hiring of his nephew and niece Ivan Verzosa and Maureen Joy Santos and a certain contractual employee by the name of George Labrador. It was also indicated that Dilem Jr. has been willfully disobeying orders from the Office of the Secretary on matters of rotation and post appointments of regular DFA employees and instead placing his or “her” “favorites” in choice overseas posts. This is in direct violation of Department Order No. 14-10 or Revised Rules and Procedure on Administrative Cases of the Board of Foreign Service Administration which was signed by Secretary Alberto G. Romulo last October 8, 2010 most specially on the first issue of nepotism. Under Rule 3, Section 9 of this D.O. entitled classification of offenses which classifies infractions as grave, less grave and light, NEPOTISM falls under number 13, Item A which lists grave offenses, the punishment and penalty of which is immediate dismissal for the 1st offense. However, despite the existence of the Department Order, DFA employees have been reluctant to file any complaints against Assistant Secretary Catalino Dilem Jr. for fear of reprisal and the knowledge that the OPAS, which he heads, is the first office that determines whether the complaint will prosper based on Rule IV or the Rule for filing complaints. Section 12 of Rule IV says that all complaints will be filed with the OPAS as the first step of initiating any investigation. OPAS will likewise determine the who, why, what, where and how and the validity of the complaint. Only after they are satisfied that the complainant is in fact a real person and the complaint is sufficient in form and substance will they elevate and consider the matter or charges as valid, otherwise OPAS can dismiss it outright. So it is evident by these alone that any complaint being filed against the powerful Assistant Secretary will not prosper at all because he controls the office that determines whether a complaint is a valid. OPAS also controls the rotation and the assignment of DFA personnel to our foreign offices abroad. Any DFA employee filing a case against the head of OPAS would automatically expect that he would no longer be considered to any foreign post or what they would call a permanent home assignment. As regards this case to ever prosper against Assistant Secretary Catalino Dilem Jr., it would have to take the Secretary of the Department himself to order an investigation on the allegations if he so warrants and if he determined that enough merits are present to do so.

The question therefore remains as to what other recourse the DFA employees have to pursue their complaint against Catalino Dilem Jr. Well, Rule II of the same Department Order allows the the complainant to file a case against erring officials outside of the jurisdiction of the DFA if they are at the same time criminal in nature. DFA employees who wish to complain may file the case with the Civil Service Commission pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 807, under Article IX, Section 36 item a, number 30 as enumerated further in Article 10, Section 49 specifically dealing on Nepotism. The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019, as amended); specifically items a and g of Section 3 may apply to the case of Assistant Secretary Catalino Dilem Jr. And under Section 8, Paragraph B of Republic Act 6713 may force him to reveal his true association with the above relatives as stated by the DFA sources. And if the accusations are truly valid, the same DFA employees can follow the lead of the DOT employees and file a case against Dilem with the Ombudsman. In a very similar case where Undersecretary Theresa I. Martinez (who oversees the Administrative services of the DOT) hired her brother for a position in the San Francisco office of the DOT, the Ombudsman found her guilty and immediately ordered her dismissal from the service. The case took 2 years with the actual complainant dying before a decision was finally passed. There is hope after all.

With the eventual exit of Secretary Alberto Romulo, we hope that this criminal in skirts lording it over at the OPAS be finally given a swan song. Otherwise it may fall on the laps of Merceditas Gutierrez who has no love lost for this current administration to give Dilem the axe.

Corrupt DOT Undersecretary guilty of NEPOTISM – Ombudsman

In a stunning decision lauded by the downtrodden employees of the Department of Tourism, the Ombudsman issued a decision that Undersecretary Theresa I Martinez was guilty of Nepotism based on a case filed against her in 2007 by the President of the employees association of the DOT.

The case stemmed from the hiring of Undersecretary Martinez’s brother, Mario Ilagan, in the San Francisco Office of the Department of Tourism. Finally some sense of justice from an Ombudsman who has been under fire for the Garcia fiasco.

The hands of Secretary Alberto Lim were tied based on the order from the Ombudsman which was executory immediately leaving him with no other option but to dispense with the corrupt Undersecretary Martinez. However, the DOT Secretary immediately stated that the Undersecretary was free to appeal the Ombudsman’s decision as is her right. But as of this date, there is no recourse but to follow the order and dismiss her from the service.

Once a person is dismissed from the service for cause, most specially one as grave as nepotism, all accrued benefits from government service are cancelled – retirement etc. Likewise, the individual is banned from further government service either appointive or by election. This prevents corrupt individuals from further peddling their “special talents” elsewhere.

Undersecretary Theresa I. Martinez is a protege of Narzalina Lim who recommended her highly to Secretary Alberto Lim. Martinez was an Assistant Secretary overseeing the Administrative Services of the DOT which controlled the contracting of parties and employees, financial operations and the purchasing of equipment and rental of facilities. She also controlled the legal office and the administrative liaison office of the DOT which conducted direct negotiations with Senators and Congressmen for tourism related bills, issues and their usual tours to countries they visit.

She has only been found guilty for NEPOTISM as regards the issue of her brother Mario Ilagan being hired at the SF DOT office as stated earlier. But other issues hound this government official as tourism insiders would put it. Here are some.

1. The hiring of security services where one particular person assigned to her is transferred from agency to agency in exchange for a contract in the DOT. This means that this same security personnel is adopted by the new security agency that has been granted a contract by Martinez.

2. The hiring of her daughter, Trixie Martinez, in the New York DOT office.

3. Unwarranted use of facilities (such as the coconut palace when it was under the DOT) and services by relatives and close associates in the guise of tourism related activities.

4. Position peddling in exchange for loyalty and other gratuities.

5. Undermining the higher authorities on the implementation of directives.

6. The use of official government vehicles for personal activities. It is rumored that 5 vehicles were assigned to this official. Yes 5. And not all have been returned as of this report.

With the temporary departure of Undersecretary Martinez, employees of the DOT are given a window to introspectively look into their own actions and performance. Those who have been identified closely with the corrupt official must do the same twice over and see whether they themselves would be subject to investigation. They may be more worried now as Undersecretary Martinez might spill the beans or much more just pass the buck to them in mounting her defense.

This would be worth watching, much like Secretary Alberto Lim is doing while smoking his pipe and wondering…Now who do I trust?

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