ASEANEWS HEADLINE-COURTS & LAW | MANILA, Philippines: Ombudsman files graft raps vs ex-DepEd chief Briones, others
.
Over purchase of P2.4-B overpriced, outdated laptops in 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gQtmpuP6bg
WATCH VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gQtmpuP6bg
Ombudsman files graft raps vs ex-DepEd chief Briones, others | INQToday
The Office of the Ombudsman is ordering the filing of graft and falsification complaints against former Education Secretary Leonor Briones and others in connection with the P2.4 billion worth of outdated laptops procured for public school teachers in 2021.
.
.
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of graft and falsification complaints against former Education Secretary Leonor Briones and others in connection with the P2.4 billion worth of outdated laptops procured for public school teachers in 2021.
In a 106-page resolution dated July 4, the Ombudsman said that the same charges should also be lodged against Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) chief Lloyd Christopher Lao, a private respondent, Froilan Domingo, and the following officials:
READ: Senate blue ribbon panel stops probe into DepEd’s ‘pricey, outdated’ laptop buy
.
- DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Macam Sevilla
- DepEd Undersecretary Alain Del Bustamante Pascua
- DepEd Assistant Secretary Salvador Cacatian Malana III
- DepEd Director IV Abram Yap Chai Abanil
- DepEd Director IV Marcelo Bragado
- DepEd Undersecretary Alec Serquina Ladanga
- DepEd Supervising Administrative Officer Selwyn Carillo Briones
- PS-DBM Director IV and officer-in-charge Jasonmer Lagarto Uayan
- PS-DBM Procurement Management Officer IV Ulysses Evangelista Mora
- PS-DBM Procurement Management Officer I Marwan Amil
- PS-DBM Procurement Management Officer V Paul Armand Abando Estrada
The Ombudsman also ordered the filing of a perjury case against Lao, Secilla, and Uayan and dismissed the perjury charges against Pascua and Malana.
In reaction to this, Briones told reporters in a text message that she is now “consulting with her lawyer.” On the other hand, Inquirer tried to get the side of Lao, but he has yet to reply as of posting time.
‘Overpriced’ DepEd laptops: Raps set vs Briones, Lao, 12 others
In 2022, the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the DepEd for buying P2.4 billion worth of reportedly “outdated and pricey” laptops for teachers, in line with the implementation of distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
.
In the same year, the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, which was headed by then former Senator Francis Tolentino, conducted an inquiry on the issue. The probe concluded on its fifth round of discussions.
Tolentino then referred to the Ombudsman the committee report containing the findings of the Senate investigation, as stated in the resolution.
In September 2020, Congress enacted Republic Act (RA) No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act to deal with the continuing national health emergency and to restore public trust in the education system, among other things.
Section 4 of RA 11494 allowed the realignment of unused or unobligated funds of any agency that were inefficiently used as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The same law likewise prioritized the augmentation of funds in certain DepEd projects and programs, including digital education, information technology (IT), digital infrastructures, and alternative learning modalities.
Among the goals of these initiatives was to provide mobile or internet load to some 3.2 million senior high school students nationwide, with an allotment of P2.4 billion. However, in November of the same year, Abanil, Sevilla, and Pascua proposed modifying the P2.4 billion allotment for the procurement of 68,500 laptops for teachers, which amounts to P35,036 per unit, based on the facts of the case.
In May 2021, Briones approved the 2021 supplemental annual procurement plan.
However, according to the COA report, the commission observed that DepEd’s Agency Procurement Request (APR) reflected a price of P35,046.50 per laptop, while the DBM-PS recommended approved budget for the contract (ABC) was set at P58,300 each.
“Per available documents, the Audit Team could not ascertain the DBM-PS basis for adopting the unit price of P58,300 in the ABC. Apparently, the supposed number of laptops to be procured of 68,500 units was significantly reduced to 39,583 units, which was mainly due to the huge increase of estimated cost from P35,046.50, based on DepEd’s submitted and approved APR, to P58,300 anchored on the DBM-PS recommendation, which was duly accepted by DepEd,” the COA said.
It said the huge difference of P23,253.50 per unit “resulted in a significant decrease by 28,917 laptop computers, purportedly for distribution to intended recipient-teachers, which could have helped them in performing their tasks in the blended learning setup.” /das
.
Blue ribbon findings
During the hearings, the Senate panel found that DepEd altered the purpose of the P2.4-billion funds and used this to buy laptops instead of distributing this to senior high school students to buy cell phone data load credits.
The committee also found that in some areas, the laptops, which were intended to be used by classroom teachers to allow them to continue teaching under an online learning setup during the pandemic, were given to nonteaching personnel, including some regional directors.
In an October 2022 hearing, a COA official revealed that as of August 2022, they found that 1,678 of these computers have been gathering dust at the DepEd central office warehouse.
Tolentino later said that Briones was admonished for her involvement but was not legally liable in the deal. The committee’s report found that she “may have unwittingly approved” conditions that paved the way for purchasing the laptops. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
.
PREVENT CLIMATE CHANGE
Memento Maxima Digital Marketing
Happy
