Ex-DepEd chief Briones charged with graft, falsification over P2.4-B laptop deal

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of graft charges against former Education Secretary Leonor Briones and over a dozen other officials over the Department of Education's P2.4-billion procurement of overpriced laptops for teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a 106-page resolution dated July 4, the ombudsman deemed there was probable cause to charge Briones and other DepEd officials with violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and falsification in connection with the department's procurement of outdated laptops in 2021. 

Perjury charges, meanwhile, were ordered against three officials from DepEd and the Department of Budget and Management's Procurement Service for falsely testifying under oath during the Senate blue ribbon committee probe on the issue. 

The ombudsman agreed with the conclusions reached by the Senate blue ribbon committee — chaired by then-Sen. Francis Tolentino — that there were glaring irregularities in DepEd's procurement of the overpriced laptops. 

But while the Senate blue ribbon committee indicated Briones was "unwittingly" duped into approving the purchase, the ombudsman held that she was not simply misled but had conspired with subordinates to push through the procurement and falsify the execution date of the 2021 Memorandum of Agreement — a key document in the deal.

Graft charges

The ombudsman adopted the Senate committee's finding that the government suffered "undue injury" of P979 million due to laptops that were both overpriced and largely unusable for their intended purpose.

State auditors earlier found DepEd bought over 39,000 laptops at P58,300 each through the DBM's Procurement Service (PS-DBM), despite originally budgeting only P35,046 per unit. The price increase meant 28,917 fewer teachers received laptops than originally planned.

An earlier report by the Commission on Audit noted that identical Dell laptops with better specifications were available in the market for only P22,490 to P25,000.

Briones and the 13 other defendants face graft charges under Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for causing undue injury to the government through "manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence." 

The ombudsman found the officials acted in conspiracy to facilitate the overpriced procurement and give unwarranted benefits to the winning joint venture, composed of Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation, LDLA Marketing and Trading Inc. and VST ECS Phils. Inc.

How did the ombudsman justify the order to charge them? It cited major irregularities, including DepEd's questionable decision to outsource the procurement to the PS-DBM despite having the capability to do it on its own, the obligation of P2.4 billion without a valid agreement, and the deliberate downgrading of laptop specifications.

The ombudsman also flagged the "clear intent" to jack up the price of the laptops and the premature awarding of the contract without allowing a period for protest.  

"Not only did the government suffer injury by paying more on the procured laptops, the laptops delivered to the recipient teachers were found to be unsatisfactory, inferior and could not be used for the intended purpose, i.e. to aid teachers in delivering online classes during the pandemic," the resolution read.

What role did Briones play in this? Contrary to the Senate's findings, the ombudsman documented Briones' direct involvement in multiple decisions that enabled the overpriced procurement.

The former DepEd secretary approved the original procurement request on Dec. 11, 2020 for 68,500 laptops at P35,036.496 per unit, then "without valid or sufficient justification" requested DBM on Feb. 11, 2021 to transfer the procurement to PS-DBM, even though DepEd could have conducted the bidding itself as early as January 2021.

The ombudsman found she made several approvals "despite the absence of a MOA": she approved the inflated unit price of P58,300 per laptop, approved the P2.4 billion payment to PS-DBM on May 5, 2021, and endorsed the supplemental procurement plan covering the laptop project.

Briones also signed the MOA on May 28, 2021 that was later backdated to February 16, 2021, and approved the memorandum justifying the backdating to cover the earlier fund transfers.

"Hence, PS-DBM had no authority to act as procurement agent or entity for DepEd at the time it commenced procurement activities pending the execution of the 2021 MOA," the resolution read.

Falsification through backdated document

It was this backdating of the MOA that led to the falsification charges against Briones and six other officials. Specifically, they face charges of violating Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code. 

The 2021 MOA bears an execution date of Feb. 16, 2021, but the ombudsman's investigation revealed it was signed and notarized on May 28, 2021. The backdating was done to provide legal cover for the P2.4 billion fund transfer that occurred on February 18, 2021. 

Briones and the six other officials "willfully altered the true date of the execution of the [memorandum of agreement] and made false statements in a narration of facts therein," the resolution read.

The ombudsman said the idea to backdate the 2021 memorandum of agreement came from the finance group led by then-Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla. This is based on Viber messages from the “PS-DBM Task Force” group — which included Sevilla — and documents from then-DepEd procurement director Marcelo Bragado, who drafted and prepared the MOA. The backdating was intended to justify the P2.4 billion obligation. 

The ombudsman also noted that Lao lacked authority to sign the agreement on behalf of PS-DBM since his designation as head of the procurement service had ended on April 30, 2021.

Perjury charges

Three officials face perjury charges for allegedly lying under oath during the Senate blue ribbon committee investigation: Lao, Sevilla and Uayan.

The ombudsman said these officials made false statements during their sworn testimonies before the Senate panel investigating the laptop procurement irregularities.
In a statement on Friday, July 11, the teachers' group Alliance of Concerned Teachers urged the ombudsman to "pursue full justice" for the anomalous transaction that had blunted teachers' ability to hold remote classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"These acts occurred in the context of an education system already in deep crisis, marked by decades-long shortages in infrastructure, personnel, and learning outcomes," ACT said. "To rob the sector of P2.4 billion in this context is unconscionable."