Duque asks Sandigan to junk P41 billion graft rap

MANILA, Philippines — Former Department of Health secretary Francisco Duque III has asked the Sandiganbayan to dismiss his graft case over alleged irregularities in the DOH’s transfer of P41.46-billion funding to the Department of Budget and Management Procurement Service (PS-DBM) at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

Duque’s scheduled arraignment did not push through on Monday.

His legal counsel filed a motion to quash the case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on Aug. 27.

The anti-graft court’s First Division, which is handling the case, has given ombudsman prosecutors 10 days to comment on Duque’s motion.

Duque’s counsel was given 10 days to reply, after which the motion is deemed submitted for resolution.

The court tentatively set Duque’s arraignment on Nov. 11.

In a Viber message to The STAR, Duque said the PS-DBM’s charging of four percent or P1.65 billion in service fee for the procurement of COVID-19 related supplies was allowed under the law, specifically under Executive Order 359.

“Please look at EO 359 authorizing PS-DBM to charge four percent service fee for all supplies and equipment that NGAs, GOCCs, SUCs and LGUs procured from PS-DBM. The service fee was collected by PS-DBM to cover their personnel cost and other operating expenses. Any excess was reverted to the national government,” Duque explained.

“Having said this, the element of damage or injury to the government as alleged by the ombudsman is therefore absent, thus the motion to quash,” he added.

Duque also maintained that the fund transfer to PS-DBM for the emergency procurement was above-board as it was authorized under Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and RA 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.

“We must also remember that all the actions of the SOH (secretary of health) were done in the context of a national public health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic as declared by then president Rodrigo Duterte and Congress through Bayanihan 1 and 2, when there were no drugs or medicines like antivirals and not a drop of vaccine to speak of,” Duque said.

“Only PPEs (personal protective equipment) were proven effective against the unprecedented conflagration of a deadly virus!” he added.

Duque maintained that the fund transfer did not require a memorandum of agreement.

Duque’s co-defendant, former PS-DBM executive director Lloyd Christopher Lao was also not arraigned on Monday.

The Sandiganbayan said it has yet to receive from authorities in Davao City the documents confirming Lao’s arrest and posting of bail.