MANILA, Philippines – An internal audit at the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has flagged possible conflict-of-interest concerns involving Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. 

The internal audit  comes after more than P1.5 billion in eGov-related contracts went to PLDT and its subsidiaries.

A conflict-of-interest issue such as this, to put simply, questions whether the best choices for procurement were made for the most efficient use of the budget, or if people’s interests were prioritized the most. 

The eGov app is the government’s central mobile platform that consolidates national and local digital services. Through the app, users are supposed to be able to access business permitting, PhilHealth records, BIR services, PAG-IBIG transactions, eTravel registration, and more.

In July 2025, President Marcos described Almirol as the one who personally wrote the app’s code. 

PLDT, which won at least eight e-Gov-related contracts since November 2023, has had a major ownership stake in Multisys since 2018, the software firm Almirol founded and led for more than a decade. 

Almirol, however, denied any conflict, saying the DICT also engaged other large service providers Globe and Converge, and that procurement is handled by another undersecretary. PLDT, for its part, said, “PLDT has followed all the appropriate processes, and we’re confident that any investigation will reveal the same.”

Rappler’s review of Multisys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) found inconsistencies that make it hard to determine when Almirol actually gave up his Multisys shares. 

These raise questions about the truthfulness of the Multisys disclosures during Almirol’s transition into government.  

Scope of contracts, PLDT’s Multisys stake

In some of the eight eGov-related contracts awarded to ePLDT beginning in November 2023, other PLDT-owned subsidiaries such as its mobile arm Smart and data center firm Vitro, or the parent firm PLDT itself, were named as co-contractors.

These contracts were sealed when Almirol was already overseeing the rollout of the DICT’s flagship eGov app. Almirol took his oath as undersecretary of e-Government on August 4, 2022. 

These contracts included projects such as the deployment of the eGov app’s eLGU system, an online platform for acquiring business permits, managing the e-Government cloud services, and data center services. 

“It is a known fact that Undersecretary David Almirol is the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Multisys Technologies Corporation, a privately held software engineering and digital solutions firm,” an internal audit report dated June 5, 2025 said.  

Considering this, the report noted that “a conflict of interest may arise” in the following circumstances: (1) hiring ex-Multisys personnel and 2) awarding contracts to ePLDT. 

At least one of the contracts referred to was awarded through a “negotiated procurement” process. This was a December 2023 contract worth more than P133 million given to ePLDT. 

A negotiated procurement is defined as one being “resorted to under extraordinary circumstances whereby the government directly negotiates a contract with a technically, legally and financially capable supplier, contractor or consultant. Negotiated procurement is allowed in cases of two failed biddings…” 

PLDT currently owns a 45.73% stake in Multisys — where it reportedly invested P2.15 billion in 2018. Of the 2018 PLDT investment, P500 million reportedly went directly to the owners of Multisys, Almirol included. 

At the time of PLDT’s 2018 investment in Multisys, the latter was expected to strengthen the digital initiatives of ePLDT, Voyager Innovations (Maya), and PLDT Enterprise. 

Almirol served as president and CEO of the company for over 10 years. He remained listed as president at least until a January 24, 2022 general information filing at the  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which Rappler obtained in the course of this investigation. 

Almirol disputed the audit’s findings. 

Citing data center contracts specifically, Almirol said, “Even before we came in, they were already using [PLDT] Vitro. We’re also using Globe’s MK [data center]. We’re also using Converge. It’s spread out. That’s why Globe and Converge have large contracts too. In fact, PLDT has the smallest share for data centers.” 

Rappler’s own investigation, however, unearthed inconsistencies in Multisys filings with the SEC. This raises questions over Almirol’s stake in the company.

eGov contracts for PLDT subsidiaries

With Almirol at the helm, Multisys’ parent firm PLDT — including its ICT subsidiary ePLDT, mobile and connectivity service provider Smart, and data center arm Vitro Inc. — has since been awarded at least eight contracts involving the eGov app and related projects.

The contracts total around P1.55 billion, according to documents obtained from the DICT procurement page. 

They are as follows, arranged by earliest to latest date: 

1. Procurement of ICT Consultancy for the Phase 1 Deployment and Implementation, Systems Integration, and Operations of the Philippine Electronic Local Government Unit (eLGU) Application
   Date: November 2023
   Value: P292,442,000
   Awarded to PLDT and ePLDT
   
2. Procurement of ICT Consultancy for Phase 1 Deployment and Implementation, Systems Integration, and Operations of the Philippine Electronic Government Application (eGovApp)
   
   Date: December 2023 (Notice of Award)
   Value: P133,688,000
   Awarded to: ePLDT

1. Procurement of ICT Software Subscription to a Web-based SMS Platform for the e-Government Messaging Service
   
   Date: December 2023
   Value: P184,888,000
   Awarded to: ePLDT, Smart

1. Procurement of Managed Services and Subscription, Maintenance and Support Services for the E-Government Cloud
   Date: September 2024
   Value: P464,188,000
   Awarded to: ePLDT

1. eGovernment Data Center Colocation
   Date: December 2024 (Notice of Award)
   Value: P120 million
   Awarded to: Vitro, ePLDT, PLDT

1. Procurement of Managed Services for the Deployment and Systems Integration of the Philippine Electronic Local Government Unit (ELGU) System
   Date: December 2024
   Value: P85,188,000
   Awarded to: ePLDT, PLDT, Vitro

1. Procurement of ICT Software Subscription to eMessage for the DICT eGovernment Initiatives
   Date: February 2025 (Notice of Award)
   Value: P275,388,000
   Awarded to: ePLDT, Smart, Vitro

1. Egovernment data center colocation contract renewal
   Date: May 2025
   Value: P120 million
   Awarded to: Vitro, ePLDT

Rappler has reached out to DICT and Almirol multiple times to provide information on claimed eGov contracts with Globe and Converge. DICT is currently processing our freedom of information (FOI) request. Rappler will update this story once we have received the information. 

Conflicting SEC filings

To Almirol’s credit, none of these contracts were awarded while he was still on record as owner or a member of the Multisys board of directors. 

Because of the company’s conflicting filings with the SEC, however, it is unclear when exactly Almirol divested his Multisys shares. 

Almirol took his oath as undersecretary of e-Government on August 4 2022. 

A review of Multisys’ submissions to the SEC reveals that the company filed its General Information Sheet (GIS) three times that year (2022). 

The first GIS filing — notarized on January 24, 2022 and received by the SEC at 8:41 am on January 26, 2022 — still listed Almirol as president with a 54.22% stake. 

A second GIS–notarized on October 27, 2022 and received by the SEC at 4:12 pm on November 2, 2022 — more than two months after he took his oath as undersecretary — still showed him as a stockholder with a reduced 49.21% stake. 

The third and final version, notarized on November 18, 2022 and received by the SEC at 3:30 pm on November 21, 2022 removed him from the stockholder list entirely.

RA 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, requires officials to divest within 60 days of appointment.

All of the three GIS documents listed December 29, 2021 as the “period covered.” December 29 is also listed as the actual date of the annual Multisys board meeting.

The first GIS, filed in January 2022, was signed by Alex Erlito Fider, the corporate secretary of Multisys.  

The second, executed on October 27 2022, was signed by Faye Encarnacion Bautista, assistant corporate secretary of Multisys. 

Only a few days later, a third one, filed on November 18, 2022, was also signed by Bautista. 

Fider was still listed as the corporate secretary in the second and third filings.

Section 9 of RA 6713, which concerns divestment of business interests by public officials states thus:  “A public official or employee shall avoid conflicts of interest at all times. When a conflict of interest arises, he shall resign from his position in any private business enterprise within thirty (30) days from his assumption of office and/or divest himself of his shareholdings or interest within sixty (60) days from such assumption. 

The dates above indicate that Almirol was still listed as owner of over 49.21% of Multisys well after these deadlines required by law.

The staggered updates also raise questions about the accuracy and timing of the company’s disclosures during his divestment period.

After Almirol divested, as seen in the GIS filed by Multisys on November 18, 2022, Belen M. Al-Humayed took on a share percentage of 48.22%. A quick search shows that Al-Humayed is listed as owner of Bison Management Corporation, a licensed recruitment and placement company. 

Michael Toledo, the director for Government Relations & Public Affairs at Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, took a 1% stake. Meanwhile, PLDT’s stake grew to 50.68%. 

How Multisys benefited from these contracts

Incorporated in 2010, Almirol’s software development company Multisys made it to the headlines in 2020 when its app called Staysafe for the 2020 COVID-19 contact-tracing was flagged by critics as “borderline spyware.” The app was scrutinized for allegedly having intrusive and excessive app permissions.

The firm’s listed clients include the Villar Group, Robinsons Bank, and Grab — among a claimed 2,000 others. It has also developed cashless payment apps for local governments like Manila and Cauayan City, as previously reported by Rappler. 

Responding to the criticisms then, Multisys would later remove the required permissions in January 2021 for GPS and Bluetooth. 

Multisys had a net income of P116.6 million and P42.7 million in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Majority of the revenues in these years were credited to “software licenses.” 

The company then incurred losses in 2022 and 2023. 

According to SEC financial statements in 2022, Multisys had net losses of P742 million. This continued in 2023 with net losses of P188 million. 

In 2024, Multisys finally rebounded with a net income of P209.5 million. 

As mentioned above, eGov-related PLDT contracts came starting November 2023. All eight contracts listed ePLDT as a co-contractor with PLDT itself or PLDT-owned subsidiaries, Vitro or Smart. 

In 2023 and 2024, the majority of the company’s revenues came from “managed services” followed by “system fees” and “software licenses.”

Multisys explicitly states in its 2024 financial statement that it earned revenues from ePLDT in 2024 and 2023 for “managed services” totaling P514.6 million and P110.8 million, respectively.  

To date, the DICT procured “managed services” from ePLDT in 2024. 

In 2023 and 2024, Multisys also had other contracts with PLDT and Smart for consultancy and software development services. But these make up a smaller chunk of Multisys revenues, ranging from P0.04 million to P48 million. 

Prior to these ePLDT contracts in 2023 and 2024, the largest contract that Multisys had received from PLDT was a P158-million contract in 2021 with Smart for software development. 

Money had been flowing from PLDT to Multisys, but none matched the more than half-billion-peso contract (P514.6 million to be exact) that it received in 2024 for managed services. 

According to the ePLDT website, managed services refers to the “end-to-end support for technological infrastructure,” which includes services like cloud management and help desk support services.

The DICT’s internal audit report said that while the “procurement has undergone the regular bids and awards process, the award of managed service contracts to ePLDT, given its ownership stake with Multisys, creates a strong perception of a revolving door.” 

Despite Almirol’s divestment, the audit suggests that the undersecretary’s past ties with Multisys, and by extension, PLDT, may give these companies an unfair advantage in terms of winning these multi-million government contracts. 

The audit said that the presence of these contracts “suggests that the officer is leveraging their public position to funnel government resources towards entities with which they have prior financial ties.” 

The audit added, “Even if no direct financial transactions occur, the goodwill generated or the strengthening of business networks through such decisions can be considered a form of personal gain.”

Almirol, PLDT dispute internal audit findings

Almirol, in an interview with Rappler, disputed the audit’s findings, claiming that other service providers of equal or similar size such as Globe and Converge have also received contracts comparable to PLDT’s. 

Publicly viewable eGov procurement contracts on the DICT website have not shown Globe or Converge data center deals, based on our review of the available contracts on the DICT procurement page found here. 

Almirol denied influencing procurement, saying he had “no control” over the bidding process.

“I have no control over the biddings…there’s another [undersecretary] who handles biddings.” – with Victor Barreiro/Rappler.com