DOJ orders BI to recall AD cards, end contract

MANILA, Philippines - Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima ordered the Bureau of Immigration (BI) yesterday to immediately recall the arrival-departure cards carrying the advertisements of beauty expert Vicki Belo, a hotel and a shopping mall.

“I have directed BI officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma to terminate the contract with the firm” e-Xtend Inc., she told reporters.

De Lima said Ledesma told her e-Xtend did not consult the BI on the advertisements. “Those cards should be recalled right away,” she said.

However, Ledesma said e-Xtend printed only 400,000 cards with the controversial ads, good for about one week.

He said once the cards run out, the Airline Operators Council has agreed to distribute the old cards and resume printing them, a task the AOC has done for 20 years without cost to the government until the BI signed a 15-year contract with e-Xtend in May 2009.

Ledesma said they found the e-Xtend deal did not go through competitive bidding and was not subjected to a DOJ review, as required by law. – Edu Punay, Evelyn Macairan, Rudy Santos