Commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, participated in a business through the Doromal International Trading Corporation (DITC), a family corporation of which he is the President, and which company participated in the biddings conducted by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) and the National Manpower & Youth Council (NMYC) .
DITC participated in the biddings to supply equipments to
DECS and National Manpower and Youth Council.
An information was then filed by the Tanodbayan
against Doromal for the said violation and a preliminary investigation was conducted.
The petitioner then filed a petition for certiorari and
prohibition questioning the jurisdiction of the Tanodbayan to file the information without the approval of the Ombudsman.
ISSUES:
Whether or not the act of Doromal would constitute a
violation of the Constitution.
Ruling:
1. Article VII, Section 13 (1) of the Constitution
provides:
The President, Vice-President, the Members of the
Cabinet, and their deputies or assistants shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure. They shall not, during said tenure, directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries. They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office
The presence of a signed document bearing the signature
of Doromal as part of the application to bid shows that he can rightfully be charged with having participated in a business which act is absolutely prohibited by Section 13 of Article VII of the Constitution" because "the DITC remained a family corporation in which Doromal has at least an indirect interest."
CONCLUSION:
Yes, the act of Doromal would constitute a violation of the
Constitution specifically of Section 13 of Article VII.