Senate denies former DBM exec’s request to travel

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Blue Ribbon committee yesterday denied the request of former Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service  (DBM-PS) officer-in-charge Lloyd Christopher Lao to lift the lookout bulletin issued against him by the Department of Justice.

At the resumption of the hearing on overpriced and outdated laptops, Blue Ribbon chairman Sen. Francis Tolentino read the decision of the committee composed of 17 senators.

“The committee has decided to deny the request of Lao by virtue of a vote of 10 denials, five granting, and two not participating,” Tolentino added.

He directed the committee to issue the necessary letter for Lao as well as the appropriate government agencies.

Lao asked the committee to lift the hold departure order against him issued during the previous Congress related to the Pharmally controversy.

During the 18th Congress, Lao was cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee for skipping hearings on the government’s procurement of medical supplies from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.

He stopped attending the hearing after the executive department issued a memorandum barring Cabinet members from attending Blue Ribbon probe.

At the first hearing of the committee on overpriced and outdated laptops, Lao requested the panel to excuse him as he was no longer connected with the DBM-PS.

Tolentino, however, said there are documents pertaining to the DepEd laptop procurement that were “allegedly signed” while Lao was still the head of the DBM-PS.

He noted that the DepEd and DBM-PS entered into a memorandum of agreement signed by then education secretary Leonor Briones and then DBM-PS chief undersecretary Lao in the presence of Education Assistant Secretary Salvador Malana III and DBM-PS Assistant Secretary Jasonmer Uayan.

The Commission on Audit (COA) 2021 annual audit report indicated that teachers’ laptops bought by DepEd for P2.4 billion through the DBM-PS were “pricey for an entry-level type laptop.”

COA said the purchase of overpriced laptops “adversely decreased the number of intended beneficiaries from 68,500 to 39,583 public school teachers.”

Lao was also questioned by the Blue Ribbon committee in the 18th Congress over the procurement of the Department of Health, under the direction of the DBM-PS of “overpriced” pandemic response supplies from Pharmally, including products like face masks and face shields.

The company was awarded P8.6 billion worth of government contracts despite only having a capital of P625,000.