Former DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III and PS-DBM executive director Lloyd Christopher Lao
The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of a graft case against former Department of Health (DOH) secretary Francisco Duque III and former Procurement Service (PS)-Department of Budget and Management (DBM) executive director Lloyd Christopher Lao.
The case is related to alleged irregularities in the DOH’s transfer of P41.4 billion funds to PS-DBM for the procurement of medical supplies during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Complainants in the case were former senator Richard Gordon and Senator Risa Hontiveros, who spearheaded a Senate investigation on the Covid-19 supplies procurement after it was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).
The case revolves around the overpriced items procured from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation which was tagged as the country’s biggest supplier of medical needs during the pandemic.
Despite having a startup capital of only P625,000, Pharmally was given at least P8.6-billion contract by the PS-DBM for the procurement of face masks, personal protective equipment and Covid-19 test kits on behalf of the DOH.
“It is evident that DOH did not ‘source’ the COVID-19-related supplies from PS-DBM but instead “outsourced” the procurement activity to PS-DBM since the latter’s ‘store’ did not have the medical supplies that DOH intended to buy at the time the fund transfers were made,” the Ombudsman resolution read.
“In this case, however, the DOH has opted to transfer the funds to PS-DBM in order for the latter to acquire the items needed by the DOH from the suppliers,” the Ombudsman said.
“Thus, the resulting arrangement added another layer by bringing in PS-DBM as DOH’s Procurement Agent. Instead of a simplified process, the procurement mechanism that involves/PS-DBM became more complicated and therefore, inconsistent with the purpose to hasten project implementation,” it added.
Aside from Duque and Lao, also named respondents in the case were DOH undersecretaries Ma. Carolina Taiño, Myrna Cabotaje, and Roger P. Tong-an; Crispinita Valdez, Napoleon Arevalo, and Enrique Tayag, all Director IV of the DOH; Leopoldo Vega, DOH undersecretary of finance; and Lorica Rabago, DOH chief accountant.
However, the complaints against them were dismissed.
