Philippine Ombudsman suspends DICT official David Almirol over alleged contract conflicts
The six-month preventive suspension without pay concerns complaints tied to roughly P1.55 billion in government contracts. Almirol has disputed the audit’s findings.
The Philippine Office of the Ombudsman ordered a six-month preventive suspension without pay for David Almirol Jr., the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s undersecretary for e-government, on October 21. The order concerns alleged conflicts of interest involving about P1.55 billion in government contracts while complaints against him are pending.
The Ombudsman said it found sufficient grounds for the preventive suspension while administrative complaints alleging grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and a violation of Republic Act No. 6713, the code of conduct for public officials, are resolved, Rappler reported. The measure is intended to protect impartial investigation proceedings, rather than decide the complaints.
How the DICT contract complaints arose
The complaints stem from a June 2025 report by the DICT Internal Audit Unit. It flagged possible conflicts involving the hiring of former employees of Multisys Technologies Corporation and the award of contracts to related companies, according to Rappler and GMA News. GMA reported that Almirol founded Multisys in 2010.
GMA News reported that the Ombudsman cited eight DICT e-government contracts awarded between November 2023 and May 2025. Together they were worth about P1.55 billion and went to companies with financial relationships with Multisys, according to GMA’s account of the order. Almirol disputed the audit’s findings, saying comparable providers also received contracts, Rappler reported.
GMA attributed further figures to Multisys’s audited statements: the company recorded managed-services revenue from related companies of P110.8 million in 2023 and P514.6 million in 2024. These figures concern the companies’ financial relationships at issue in the complaints.
Rappler reported on the potential conflicts in December 2025 after reviewing a DICT internal audit report dated June 5 of that year and Multisys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That internal audit preceded the Ombudsman’s October 21 suspension order.
What the suspension order requires
BitPinas reported that the order took effect immediately and directed DICT Secretary Robert Joseph de Claro to submit proof that it had been enforced. The six-month suspension removes Almirol from his e-government post without pay while the administrative complaints proceed.
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Sources and context
- Ombudsman suspends DICT Usec Almirol over alleged eGov conflicts of interestRappler
- Ombudsman suspends DICT exec over alleged conflict of interest in P1.55B contractsGMA News
- Ombudsman Suspends DICT Undersecretary Almirol Over Alleged P1.55B Conflict of InterestBitPinas
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.