DoTr suspends three officials over corruption allegations

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) has suspended three officials among its ranks on corruption charges.
The agency said in a statement Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade ordered the 90-day suspension on June 29 to Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) Chairman Emmanuel C. Virtucio, OTC Executive Director Eugene M. Pabualan, and Finance and Administrative Division Chief/Special Disbursing Officer Wilfredo M. Clave Jr.
It said an investigation is still ongoing on the accusations of grave misconduct of the officials, who were given 72 hours to respond.
“On December 15, 2017, the DOTr downloaded PhP3.3 million to the OTC for the implementation of the PUV Modernization Program. But, based on the Commission on Audit’s (CoA) Report for 2017, upon downloading of the funds, the OTC immediately released the total amount as cash advances — PhP2 million to Pabualan and PhP1.3 million to Clave, which they deposited to their respective personal accounts,” it said.
It added that CoA found an unliquidated balance of almost P3 million.
The statement said the findings prompted Mr. Tugade to hold the downloading of funds to the OTC until the P3.3 million is fully liquidated.
“Secretary Tugade said the officials will be given a fair investigation, but he warned heads will roll if they were proven guilty,” the statement said. — Denise A. Valdez