THE Office of the Ombudsman for Mindanao directed Mindanao State University (MSU) President Atty. Paisalin Pangandaman Tago to answer within 15 days the complaint filed against him by a private service provider for violation of RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
In an order dated August 19, 2026, Ombudsman for Mindanao Anderson Lo, thru Vivian Agdeppa Jumilla, Acting Director, Preliminary Investigation Administrative Adjudication and Prosecution Bureau, also directed Tago to provide the complainant, a joint venture of IT companies, a copy of his counter-affidavit.
The complaint filed at the OMB-Mindanao based in Davao City last May 18, 2026, accused Tago of gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct and violation of Section 3 (Corrupt Practices) under RA 3019 are docketed as OMB-M-A-JUL-26-01-99 and OMB-M-C-JUL-26-01-83, respectively. As the central figure in the controversy, the complainant also asked for Tagos’s preventive suspension while the case is ongoing.
The complaint is centered on Tago’s alleged violation of the MSU’s contract with the JV, involving more than ₱2.2 billion in IT-related projects fully funded by the national government under the 2024 general appropriations.
The complainant said they won the projects after a competitive bidding administered by the MSU and was issued the ‘Notice to Proceed’ by the previous MSU administration headed by President Atty. Basari Mapupuno.
The multi-billion projects were formally rolled out on November 25, 2024, with Mapupuno and other MSU officials in attendance.
The complaint alleged that the projects are now undergoing “severe delays” in implementation since Tago assumed the MSU presidency in July 2025 thru his “own inaction, indecision and incompetence.”
Tago got the post of MSU System President allegedly with the backing of his cousin, former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, when Mapupuno, suddenly passed away on May 27, 2025. Tago was serving as Bangsamoro Parliament Deputy Speaker prior to his appointment.
Specifically, Tago is accused of violating Section 3(e) or “causing undue injury to any party” for allegedly withholding his approval to the detailed engineering design (DED) and the project locations for two MSU System-wide projects at the Marawi Campus and for withholding payment for services already rendered by the complainant.
The projects refer to the ‘Connectivity Enhancement for Digital Campus Transformation’ (also known as Project 6) with an approved budget of ₱1.5 billion and the ‘Advanced Digital Security for Safe Campus Ecosytem’ (also known as Project 7) with an approved budget of ₱700 million.
The complaint stated that almost 10 months have already passed since Tago announced in August 2025 that all ongoing projects at the MSU are placed on hold pending review.
The projects, which were supposed to be completed by November 2025, have already incurred a delay of 600 calendar days, thru no fault of their own, the complainant added.
“To stress, any supposed review of the Projects by respondent Tago should not start from scratch as complainant Joint Venture had been closely coordinating with the MSU-Marawi PMT, and later on, MSU-Marawi PMO, in the implementation of the works since their commencement.
“A mere change in administration does not necessarily upheave the approvals and progress already made by the MSU-Marawi PMT, and any further review by MSU-Marawi PMO necessitating further approval by respondent Tago serves only to confirm such previous approvals which has remarkably taken almost a year without any meaningful progress,” the complainant told the Ombudsman. ###