The controversial Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina was charged with plunder and graft cases by a private firm on Monday. A private firm charged Sec. Lina for his preventive suspension while the Office of the Ombudsman investigates the complaint.
A motion submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman by joint venture Omni Prime Marketing Inc. and Intrasfot International Inc. (OMI-Intrasoft JV) stated taht Sec. Lina must be suspended from his post to prevent him from influencing the investigation. The private firm was represented by its lawyer, Joel Batuyan.
Atty. Batuyan explained that his client’s motion is “aimed at inhibiting that official from using his office to intimidate or influence witnesses or to tamper with records that might be vital to the prosecution of the case against him,” OMI-Intrasoft said in its motion.
Last July, Omi-Intrasoft filed a complaint against Sec. Bert Lina, former Customes Commissioner Guillermo Parayno Jr. and former Customs Deputy Commissioner Primo Aguas for alleged violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Anti-Plunder Act and the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Based upon the charges filed, the complaint stemmed from the respondents’ alleged illegal cancellation of a P650-million contract for the creation of the Bureau of Customs National Single Window (NSW) system, a central database to track Customs procedures and transactions nationwide.