The recent appointment by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of Atty. Jose Vicente B. Salazar to the Department of Information and Communication Technology—who was removed and disqualified from holding any government position by former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea for graft and corruption at the Energy Regulatory Commission — has caused quarters to question what kind of vetting is being done, if any, by the Marcos administration and if appointments are based on backers or political patrons.
This is not to belittle the current president but there are persistent talks that appointments to top executive positions are controlled by an ‘inner circle of influence’ that comprise the camps of Executive Secretary Atty. Victor Rodriguez, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and some Cabinet men. For Salazar’s case, the persistent talk is that the padrino is a Cabinet member from Cavite.
The family of the late ERC Director Francisco Jose Villa Jr.-- who used to head the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) but could not stomach the graft and corruption under then Chairman/CEO Salazar caused him to commit suicide -- submitted an Open Letter to the President Marcos begging him to rescind the appointment of Salazar, who was dismissed from his post at ERC but who was appointed as DICT undersecretary for policy and legal affairs. The late Director Villa’s sister, Charie, confirmed the family’s letter to the President.
The story was carried by CNN Philippines on August 10 where the Villa family objected to Salazar’s appointment as he was sacked in 2017 as ERC chairman following an investigation into Villa’s death, where the late director revealed massive corruption in the agency under Salazar.
The dismissal order stated that Salazar committed "serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, and grave misconduct.” Among other violations, the probe found that Salazar disregarded bidding procedures to make sure that a firm he favored would get the project and appointed officers without the ERC commissioners’ approval.
“We consider it our duty not only to the memory of our good brother, but also to our country to attest to the facts laid out by the said document issued by the Office of President Rodrigo Duterte after a thorough investigation,” the Villa family said.
They cited the previous administration's decision against Salazar carried with it the penalty of public disqualification from holding public office — which they called on Marcos to enforce.
“Take this God-given chance to make the right decision that will hopefully serve as an example and edify the soul of our government,” they urged the President.
Numerous violations
On Nov. 9, 2016, Villa – who chaired the ERC’s BAC – took his life in his home. Police found in his bedroom three letters where he expressed fears about his work, including regarding an audio-visual presentation project which Salazar “[chose] through a rigged selection system.”
In their appeal to Marcos, the Villa family cited other violations allegedly committed by Salazar, as reported by ERC commissioners to Duterte.
These include the renovation of his office and of the ERC board room which reportedly cost nearly ₱1.4 million but did not go through the proper procurement process. They said there were also “several incidents of harassment at work.”
"This is proof to the kind of man that your administration has recently empowered with policy-making and legal affairs of this vital and lucrative industry of information technology,” they told the President.
They described in their open letter to Marcos Salazar as a “man guilty [of] many violations, shamelessly “fiddled like Nero” at his lavishly- catered birthday party with guests in high places of the government, all identified on page four of the said letter to President Duterte.”
CNN Philippines has contacted the offices of Salazar, the Executive Secretary, and the Press Secretary for comment.
‘Influential people ganged up on him’
Salazar previously denied all charges against him, saying numerous influential people who had vested interests in the energy sector ganged up on him.
Meanwhile, DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy told CNN Philippines on Wednesday that it was his first time to read the letter. He only said appointments for undersecretary require a rigorous selection process.
"Part of that process is the submission of clearances from all the government agencies that do the adjudication, such as the Department of justice (DOJ), the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), Ombudsman, and the courts. So, if those clearances were issued, then those agencies apparently cleared him of any of these allegations," Uy said.
He added that Salazar was "highly recommended by many in the industry" because of his experience as former undersecretary of the DOJ and as former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
"We'll have to review this and perhaps present this to him (Salazar) if he can explain this one," he said, referring to the letter.