The Department of Health (DOH) said it would respect the move of the Office of the Ombudsman to place some of its officials under preventive suspension for their involvement in the alleged irregularities in the procurement of Covid-19 supplies with Pharmally Pharmaceutical. "The Department of Health respects the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to order the preventive suspension of several officials of the Department," the agency said in a statement on Thursday, March 23. Ombudsman Samuel Martires placed 33 officials from the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) as well as DOH under a six-month preventive suspension pending investigation. The health officials who were suspended include: Nestor Santiago, Jr., Crispinita Valdez, Amado Tandoc, Lei Lanna Dancel, Dave Tangcalagan, Jhobert Bernal, Kenneth Aristotle Punzalan, Rose Marasigan, and Maria Carmela Reyes. "These officials have been with the agency for decades, and we continue to recognize their service, sacrifice, and commitment to the Filipino people," the DOH said. "While we commit to religiously comply with all procedures, the DOH vouches for the integrity of these officials, who have played significant roles in the country's Covid-19 response," it added. The DOH also noted that the "preventive suspension is not a penalty imposed on the officials of the Department." It said that this is a "procedure legally done to ease the investigation without the influence of the individuals in question." "We ask the public to reserve judgment and keep an open mind until the investigation has been resolved," the DOH said. The agency also noted that the role of its officials in the procurement process is only limited. "Furthermore, we would also like to reiterate that the role of the DOH and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) was limited to providing technical inputs as end-users in the conduct of the procurement of commodities for the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said. The Health department vowed to continuously cooperate with the investigation regarding the procurement of Covid-19 supplies. "Rest assured that the DOH will cooperate in the investigation and will continuously uphold all due processes as mandated by the Office of the Ombudsman and the Government of the Philippines," it said.