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Former, current DepEd and DBM officials suspended over P2.4-B laptop deal

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Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (2ND UPDATE)— The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered a six-month preventive suspension of current and former officials at the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Procurement Service office of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) who are undergoing a probe for a 2021 laptop contract amounting to P2.4 billion.In a resolution dated August 23, 2023, Ombudsman Samuel Martires ordered the suspension of DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla, former undersecretary Alain Del Pascua, former PS-DBM executive director Lloyd Christoper Lao, and other officials for a period not exceeding 6 months or until the cases were terminated.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/19/23/senate-panel-finds-deped-laptop-project-overpriced-by-nearly-p1-billion">DepEd laptop project overpriced by nearly P1 billion: Senate panel</a></li></ul>Martires noted that under Republic Act No. 6770 or the Ombudsman Act, preventive suspension may be imposed on a respondent if the evidence of guilt is strong.“The office finds sufficient grounds to preventively suspend the abovenamed respondents considering there is strong evidence showing their guilt,” the Ombudsman said.The suspension order also included the following officials: Salvador Malana III, Abram Abanil, Jasonmer Uayan, Ulysses Mora, Marwan Amil, Alec Ladanga, Marcelo Bragado, Selwyn Briones, Paul Armand Estrada.Based on the complaint filed by Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson Francis Tolentino, the officials are facing administrative charges of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service for the procurement of allegedly “overpriced” and “outdated” laptops at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.The procurement process for the laptop computers was supposedly conducted by the PS-DBM upon the request and authority of the DepEd.The Ombudsman cited the Commission on Audit report on the “pricey” entry-level, low-end laptops.Citing the report, the Ombudsman noted that the DepEd accepted the P58,300 amount for each laptop, when the estimated cost based on the Annual Procurement Plan was P35,046.50 only.It also noted that Dell laptops with better specifications cost P22,490 to 25,000.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/10/22/deped-to-look-into-reports-of-slow-outdated-laptops">DepEd to look into complaints on &#x27;slow, outdated&#x27; laptops</a></li></ul>“Over 28,000 teachers were deprived of laptops to use during the COVID-19 pandemic as fewer units were purchased by the agency,” the Ombudsman said.The Ombudsman noted that the Ombudsman Act also mandates that the suspension order is immediately executory.<div>DEPED SAYS TO ADHERE TO DUE PROCEESS</div>In a statement, the DepEd said it received the preventive suspension order for Sevilla for the duration of the proceedings.It also assured the public that its services would not be affected by this, as the agency prepares for the opening of School Year 2023 to 2024.&quot;DepEd adheres to due process and shall abide by the said order,&quot; the statement read. But Senator Aquilino &quot;Koko&quot; Pimentel said it was also important that the Ombudsman also look into the contractors of the laptops involved in the deal. PS-DBM awarded the contract to Sunwest Construction and Development Corp., LDLA Marketing and Trading Inc., and VST ECS Philippines Inc, said Pimentel, who filed the Senate resolution calling for the probe into the DepEd&#x27;s laptop acquisition.&quot;We must delve into the specifics of how these companies managed to secure the contract. Were there any irregularities in the bidding process? We must uncover the truth behind this contentious procurement to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future,” the senator said in a statement on Saturday. “It is imperative for the Ombudsman to regain taxpayers&#x27; money, expended on items that did not align with the government&#x27;s actual needs,” Pimentel said.The senator also criticized the PS-DBM for supposedly failing to blacklist the laptop suppliers, as recommended by the COA. &quot;Where’s the hesitation coming from? We cannot help but question whether PS-DBM is in collusion with these suppliers, leading to such reluctance,&quot; he said.In a statement Monday, the PS-DBM said it has received the order of DBM chief Amenah Pangandaman asking them to fully implement the ruling of the Office of the Ombudsman.&quot;PS-DBM assures the public that it will strictly carry out the directive of the DBM Secretary to issue a suspension order for current PS-DBM officials and employees, in compliance with the Ombudsman&#x27;s order,&quot; the office said.PS-DBM added that in August 2022, its current management requested the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a separate investigation to see if there were any irregularities or violations of the law involving the procurement of DepEd laptops.<div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2610481" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Ombudsman ordered a preventive suspension of current and former officials at the DepEd and DBM. 

Former, current DepEd and DBM officials suspended over P2.4-B laptop deal

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Former, current DepEd and DBM officials suspended over P2.4-B laptop deal

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 25, 2023 02:55 PM PHT

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Updated Aug 28, 2023 07:44 PM PHT

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preventive suspension order

2.4 billion laptops DepEd

laptop contracts DepEd

DBM

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