The Office of the Ombudsman has greenlit the filing of graft and falsification charges against former Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones and several other ex-officials over the controversial procurement of allegedly overpriced and outdated laptops worth P2.4 billion in 2021.
In a 106-page resolution dated December 2, 2024, but only released to the public recently, the Ombudsman found probable cause to charge Briones along with former DepEd undersecretaries Annalyn Sevilla and Alain Pascua, former assistant secretary Salvador Malana III, former directors Abram Abanil and Marcelo Bragado, and former executive assistant Alec Ladanga.
Also facing graft charges are ex-Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) officials, including former executive director Lloyd Christopher Lao, officer-in-charge director Jasonmer Uayan, bids and awards committee chair Ulysses Mora, and BAC members Marwan Amil and Paul Armand Estrada.
In addition to graft, Briones, Lao, Sevilla, Bragado, Malana, Uayan, and Ladanga are also set to face charges for falsification of public documents under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code. Lao, Sevilla, and Uayan will be separately charged with perjury under Article 183.
The Commission on Audit previously flagged the DepEd’s procurement of laptops as “pricey” and “outdated,” meant for teachers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when remote learning was in full swing.
In a message to The Philippine STAR, Briones said she is currently seeking legal counsel. “(We) will follow legal procedures,” she added.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) welcomed the Ombudsman’s move, calling it a long-overdue validation of their concerns. “This development is a vindication of what teachers, watchdog groups, and even the Commission on Audit have raised,” ACT said in a statement.
ACT further stressed that instead of supporting educators, the procurement scandal forced many teachers to rely on borrowed or outdated gadgets—some even using their own salaries to get by. “This is a gross betrayal of public trust and a direct attack on the welfare of our teachers and learners,” the group added.
