Metro Manila, Philippines – The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the six-month preventive suspension of Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary David Almirol over alleged conflicts of interest involving ₱1.55 billion in government contracts.
In a seven-page order, the ombudsman cited administrative complaints of grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and violation of Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The complaints stemmed from a June 2025 DICT internal audit report that flagged the hiring of former Multisys personnel and contracts awarded to companies with financial ties to the firm.
Almirol founded Multisys Technologies Corporation in 2010 and was its president and chief executive officer for more than a decade before he was appointed DICT undersecretary for e-government in August 2022.
The ombudsman found that the DICT awarded at least eight e-government-related contracts worth around ₱1.55 billion to companies with financial ties to Multisys from November 2023 to May 2025.
The contracts covered information and communications technology consultancy, e-government application deployment, web-based messaging services, cloud infrastructure, data center colocation, and software subscriptions.
The ombudsman said Multisys’s audited financial statements also showed that the related companies paid the firm ₱110.8 million for managed services in 2023 and ₱514.6 million in 2024.
It also cited corporate records showing that Almirol still held a 49.21 percent stake in Multisys after the 60-day period for government officials to divest their business interests under RA 6713.
A subsequent company filing removed Almirol from the list of Multisys stockholders in November 2022.
The ombudsman said Almirol’s continued stay in office could prejudice the investigation because he controlled and held documents and evidence relevant to the case.
The suspension order takes effect immediately and will remain in place until the administrative proceedings conclude. DICT Secretary Robert Joseph de Claro has been directed to submit proof of compliance to the office.
The ombudsman said preventive suspension is not a penalty or a finding of administrative liability, but a precautionary measure to protect the investigation and ensure impartial proceedings.
