The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the six-month preventive suspension without pay of an undersecretary at the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) over an alleged conflict of interest involving government contracts worth approximately P1.55 billion.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the anticorruption office said its seven-page order found sufficient grounds to place the official on preventive suspension while administrative complaints for grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best of the service, and violations of Republic Act No. 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, remain pending.

The case originated from a June 2025 report by the DICT Internal Audit Unit, which flagged possible conflicts of interest arising from the hiring of former Multisys Technologies Corp. personnel and the award of contracts to companies related to the firm.

The undersecretary founded Multisys in 2010 and led the company as president and chief executive officer for more than a decade before his 2022 appointment to the DICT, the government's lead agency for e-government digitalization programs. He later oversaw the development and rollout of the eGovPH Super App.

According to the Ombudsman, at least eight e-government-related contracts valued at about P1.55 billion were awarded between November 2023 and May 2025 to companies with financial ties to Multisys. These covered information technology consultancy, e-government application deployment, messaging services, cloud infrastructure, data center colocation, and software subscriptions — categories that form the operational backbone of government digital services.

Multisys' audited financial statements showed that the company recorded revenues from related companies for managed services amounting to P110.8 million in 2023 and P514.6 million in 2024.

The Ombudsman also cited corporate records indicating that the undersecretary retained a 49.21% stake in Multisys beyond the 60-day divestment period required under the law, which obliges public officials to divest interests that may conflict with their duties.

The suspension order is immediately executory. DICT Secretary Robert Joseph M. de Claro has been directed to implement the suspension and submit proof of compliance, with the six-month suspension running while the administrative complaints remain pending before the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman stressed that preventive suspension is neither a penalty nor a finding of liability, but rather a measure intended to protect the integrity of the investigation. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking