THE Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the suspension of former and current officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) due to their alleged involvement in the procurement of "overpriced and outdated" laptops intended for teachers and learners during the implementation of distance learning amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The six months suspension without pay order of the following DepEd and Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) officials was signed by Ombudsman Samuel Martires on August 23:
*Former DepEd Undersecretary Alain del B. Pascua
*DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn M. Sevilla
*Former DepEd Assistant Secretary Salvador C. Malana III
*DepEd Director Abram Y.C. Abanil
*DepEd Executive Assistant IV Alec Ladanga
*DepEd Director IV Marcelo Bragado
*DepEd Supervising Administrative Officer Selwyn Briones
*Former PS-DBM officer-in-charge Lloyd Christopher Lao
*Former PS-DBM OIC Jasonmer L. Uayan
*Bids and Awards Committee Chairman Ulysses E. Mora
*Former PS-DBM Procurement Management Officer Engineer Marwan O. Amil
*PS-DBM Procurement Management Officer V Paul Armand Estrada
Following the conduct of a probe on the procurement of the said laptops, which had been flagged by the Commission on Audit in its 2021 audit report, the Senate Blue Ribbon committee recommended the filing of graft charges against the officials over the laptop procurement mess.
The purchase was facilitated by the PS-DBM.
The DepEd initially requested the PS-DBM to procure laptops valued at P35,046 each, but later agreed to the PS-DBM's pricing of P58,300 each.
It was, however, found out that the laptops have entry-level Intel Celeron processors.
The overpricing was established to have amounted to at least P979 million for over 39,000 units.
The Office of the Ombudsman said there is strong evidence showing the guilt of the said officials in relation to the matter, which could lead to their removal from office.
On Thursday, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the filing of charges against several current and former officials of the Department of Health and PS-DBM, including Lao and Uayan, over irregularities in the purchase of P4 billion worth of RT-PCR test kits at the height of the coronavirus disease pandemic. (SunStar Philippines)