The Office of the Ombudsman announced a six-month preventive suspension without pay for 12 officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
This move follows allegations of purchasing overpriced laptops for teachers during the Duterte administration.
Among the suspended are notable figures like DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla, former DepEd undersecretary Alain del Pascua, and former DBM undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao.
The Ombudsman, Samuel Martires, cited “grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and gross neglect of duty” as the reasons for the suspensions.
The decision comes after the Senate blue ribbon committee’s complaint and subsequent investigation into the controversy.
Furthermore, the Commission on Audit (COA) raised concerns over the inexplicable unit price of P58,300 per laptop and the reduction of the number of laptops from 68,500 to 39,583 due to inflated costs.
DepEd has acknowledged the Ombudsman’s order, stating they will comply and ensure uninterrupted services for the upcoming school year.
The suspension is in line with Section 27 of the Ombudsman law and is effective immediately.