‘Overpriced’ DepEd laptops: Raps set vs Briones, Lao, 12 others
The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of graft and falsification charges against former Education Secretary Leonor Briones and 13 others for the P2.4-billion procurement of laptop computers that were later deemed not only outdated but also overpriced.
In a 106-page resolution dated July 4, the Ombudsman found probable cause to charge Briones and other officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and for falsification of public documents.
The 2021 purchase of the laptops, intended for public school teachers conducting distance-learning classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) in March 2022.
Officials charged
The Ombudsman said the deal cost the government almost P1 billion more than what it should have paid.
In a text message to reporters, Briones said she was “consulting with her lawyer.”
Aside from Briones, the Ombudsman also ordered the filing of graft and falsification charges against former PS-DBM chief Lloyd Christopher Lao, who was also one of the central figures in another procurement controversy investigated by Congress—the Pharmally corruption scandal.
Lao did not immediately reply to the Inquirer’s request for comment.
Other DepEd officials being charged with graft are Undersecretaries Annalyn Macam Sevilla and Alain Del Bustamante Pascua; Assistant Secretary Salvador Cacatian Malana III; Director IV Abram Yap Chai Abanil and Marcelo Bragado; Executive Assistant Alec Serquina Ladanga; and Supervising Administrative Officer Selwyn Carillo Briones.
More charges
The PS-DBM officials also facing graft charges are Director IV and officer in charge Jasonmer Lagarto Uayan; Procurement Management Officer IV Ulysses Evangelista Mora; Procurement Management Officer I Marwan Amil; and Procurement Management Officer V Paul Armand Abando Estrada.
The Ombudsman also ordered falsification charges to be filed against Sevilla, Bragado, Malana, Uayan and Ladanga; and perjury charges against Lao, Sevilla and Uayan for giving false testimonies under oath before the Senate.
It also ordered the dismissal of Sevilla and Bragado from government service after being found administratively liable for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
Mora, Amil and Estrada were also ordered dismissed for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The Ombudsman, however, ordered the dismissal of perjury charges against Pascua and Malana.
Froilan Domingo, a representative of the joint venture that secured the contract, was the only nongovernment official named in the charges.
Undue injury
The Ombudsman said the laptops the group offered did not comply with the required technical specifications for the devices. It also noted that it took the group 181 days to complete the delivery and not within 45 days as stated in the contract.
The Ombudsman further noted that awarding the contract to the group caused undue injury to the government by as much as P979.36 million.
“Not only did the government suffer injury by paying more on the procured laptops, the laptops delivered to the recipient teachers were found to be unsatisfactory, inferior and could not be used for the intended purpose, i.e. to aid teachers in delivering online classes during the pandemic,” it said.
According to the COA’s 2021 annual audit report, the laptops were “pricey for an entry-level type laptop.” It said the purchase “adversely decreased the number of intended beneficiaries from 68,500 to 39,583 public school teachers.”
‘Big mistake’
The Senate blue ribbon committee, then headed by former Sen. Francis Tolentino, proceeded to investigate COA’s findings.
In a hearing on Aug. 25, 2022, Malana admitted that there was a “big mistake” in the memorandum of agreement signed by Briones delegating the PS-DBM to buy the gadgets.
This was after Tolentino noticed that a portion of the document mentioned that the agreement should comply with the “Food and Drug Law.”
At the time, PS-DBM’s procurement agency was still headed by Lao.
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
