ARMM staffer caught hauling away computers, vital papers

COTABATO CITY — A staffer of the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM) was caught in the act of hauling away several computers and valuable documents last Monday.

Lawyer Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, the new ARMM solicitor-general, identified the employee as Leonito Tagle, an executive assistant at the office of the regional education secretary.

According to sources in the DepEd-ARMM, Tagle is a known protégé of a controversial official of the department who has been linked to the mishandling of some P1 billion in contributions to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) deducted from the salaries of teachers in the past three years.

Last week, ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan appointed Udtog Kawit as the caretaker of the controversial regional education department.

According to the GSIS regional office, it was only during the term of Bai Sandra Sema, officer-in-charge of the DepEd-ARMM in the late 1990s, when the department was prompt in remitting the teachers’ monthly GSIS contributions.

Sema’s office even reportedly overpaid P10 million in teachers’ GSIS contributions during her tenure.

Sayadi said they have turned over Tagle to Police Precinct II, which has jurisdiction over the 32-hectare ARMM compound here.

"He initially gave us very inconsistent, contradicting statements. He first said the office equipment he was taking out of the DepEd-ARMM office was for repair, but he later changed his statement by asserting that the (equipment was) private property," he said.

Sayadi said Tagle failed to show them a clearance to have the computers repaired from the new supply officer and officer-in-charge of the DepEd-ARMM.

Sayadi said they are now determining, with the help of computer experts, the files stored in the hard disks of the computers seized from Tagle.

Tagle’s attempt to bring out the computers and various documents from the DepEd-ARMM was noticed by vigilant employees of the department, who saw him loading the equipment and the records into a vehicle parked near their office.

Sayadi said Kawit was tasked to study the documents found in Tagle’s possession.

"The incident was an eye-opener. It must motivate all of us in the ARMM government to be vigilant, especially now that we have declared transparency and accountability as the main parameters in running the affairs of the region," Sayadi said. — John Unson