Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 25) — The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the preventive suspension of several government officials, including one currently serving as education undersecretary, as it investigates the Department of Education’s purchase in 2021 of allegedly overpriced and outdated laptops for public school teachers.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires directed the immediate suspension of seven DepEd officials. Only Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla remains with the agency.
DepEd said it will execute the order to preventively suspend Sevilla without pay for the duration of the proceedings.
“DepEd adheres to due process and shall abide by the said Order,” it said in a statement on Friday.
Other former DepEd officials included in the order are then-Undersecretary Alain del Pascua, Assistant Secretary Salvador Malana III, Director and member of the Bids and Awards Committee for the “Laptop for Teachers” Project Abram Abanil, Executive Assistant IV under Sevilla’s office Alec Ladanga, Procurement Management Service Director IV Marcelo Bragado, and Supervising Administrative Officer Selwyn Briones.
Aside from the DepEd executives, the Ombudsman also ordered the preventive suspension of officials of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM). They include former Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, Jasonmer Uayan, Ulysses Mora, Marwan Amil, and Paul Armand Estrada.
“This Office finds sufficient grounds to preventively suspend the respondents considering that there is strong evidence showing their guilt. Their continued stay in office may prejudice the investigation of the case against them,” said the decision signed by Martires on Aug. 23 and released to the media on Friday.
Martires earlier said the fact-finding investigation was initiated early this year after his office received the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s report on the issue. In July, he said the initial probe was almost done and a preliminary investigation will follow if graft investigators find sufficient grounds to indict the current and former officials.
In its 2021 audit report, the Commission on Audit flagged DepEd over the purchase of pricey laptops with low-end processors supposedly for the implementation of distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ₱2.4-billion procurement contract was coursed through the PS-DBM, which bought at ₱58,300 per unit laptops that should cost only over ₱35,000 each.
CNN Philippines’ Lara Tan and AC Nicholls contributed to this report.
