Philippine government suspends top tech official for alleged misconduct

The Philippines’ Ombudsman has suspended Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary David L. Almirol for six months without pay while it investigates alleged misconduct. The case concerns claims that the department awarded contracts to businesses linked to Multisys Technologies, a software firm Almirol founded and held a stake in, raising questions about conflicts of interest in public procurement.

The Ombudsman says at least eight contracts worth more than ₱1.5 billion (about $24 million) were awarded between 2023 and 2025 for services including cloud infrastructure, e-government applications and software subscriptions. Rules required Almirol to divest his Multisys stake within 60 days of joining the department in 2022; the Ombudsman alleges he missed that deadline but later complied. It has not alleged that he issued contracts while he still held shares, and says the suspension is a precaution to protect the investigation, not a decision on the allegations.