The opposition to the Mayor of Oeiras, Isaltino Morais, is considering filing a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding municipal contracts awarded to the mayor’s daughter. Since October 2024, a contract with Purechoice Unipessoal Lda, owned by Dora Alexandra Franco de Morais Batista, has been in effect.
Independent councilwoman elected by the Evoluir Oeiras Coalition (Bloco de Esquerda, Livre, and Volt) expressed concerns saying, “The successive contracting of companies owned by Isaltino Morais’s daughter under excluded contracting must be investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”
The councilwoman emphasized the need to clarify the political and legal responsibilities of Isaltino Morais in the creation of contracts with Gincana de Saberes and later with Purechoice Unipessoal, both companies owned by Isaltino’s eldest daughter.
“This is not just a blatant lack of ethics—which is already serious—we might be facing potential illegalities and crimes that should be thoroughly investigated,” she added.
Bruno Mourão, the Liberal Initiative (IL) candidate, criticized the situation, stating, “What concerns me, as a resident and a candidate for the presidency of the Oeiras Municipal Council, is the ease with which these deals are made to benefit Isaltino Morais’s family. It’s also curious that Dora Batista’s company only holds contracts with the Municipal Council and, despite this, has a 100% rating in the council’s qualified suppliers list,” he noted.
Bruno Mourão also pointed out that “Purechoice is headquartered at the same location as a company majority-owned by Isaltino Morais.” He remarked, “This preference for opacity, even circumventing some public contracting rules, is a Purechoice of the mayor—no one else’s.”
The IL candidate stressed he would take action, criticized both PSD and PS, and declared that he would “propose an audit of all service contracts entered into by the municipality since 2017.”
Concerning potential illegalities being investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, points arise from the use of an “excluded contracting” regime, which bypasses usual public contracting rules and excludes competition.
The contracts are not available for public consultation on the Portal Base, which has been mandatory since 2018. Additionally, public office law requires familial relationships be recorded in awarded contracts and disclosed on the Portal Base.
According to an investigation, the Oeiras municipality has a contract with Purechoice Unipessoal Lda. This contract, which started in October 2024, is valid until October 2026 and is valued at 33,600 euros, which with VAT, costs the Municipality 41,328 euros.
Dora Batista, Isaltino Morais’s eldest daughter, owns the company. The investigation further revealed that two additional contracts were signed in 2022 and 2019, totaling 116,000 euros, all concerning “clinical psychology services.” The most recent contract pertains to “psychology services, integrated into promoting workers’ mental health.”
