ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duque, Lao graft trial begins over alleged irregular transfer of ₱41-B DOH funds for Covid-19 supplies

Duque, Lao graft trial begins over alleged irregular transfer of ₱41-B DOH funds for Covid-19 supplies

Published Jun 8, 2026 01:45 pm

At A Glance

  • In May 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman found probable cause to charge Duque and Lao with graft over the alleged illegal transfer of ₱41.46 billion for the procurement of Covid-19 supplies and equipment in 2020.
  • COA noted that the fund transfers were made without the required memoranda of agreement and certificates of previous liquidation.
The Sandiganbayan First Division on Monday, June 8, began the trial of former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and former Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Undersecretary Christopher Lao over graft charges stemming from the alleged irregular transfer of ₱41.46 billion in Department of Health (DOH) funds for the procurement of Covid-19 supplies and equipment.
The case involves the 2020 transfer of DOH funds to the Procurement Service of the DBM (PS-DBM) for the purchase of pandemic-related supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPEs) and Covid-19 test kits.
During the hearing, the prosecution informed the court that it would proceed with signing the pre-trial order (PTO), but with reservations due to unresolved issues.
The prosecution said it intended to file a second motion for reconsideration before signing the PTO, arguing that issues involving the delayed delivery and non-delivery of the procured items were excluded from the court's June 3 resolution despite being central to its case.
Sandiganbayan First Division Chairperson Associate Justice Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega allowed the prosecution to submit its motion in writing and said the defense may file its comment in response.
With the procedural matter addressed, the prosecution presented its witness, Assumption Ingrid Reyes, Director III of the Senate Legislative Records and Archives, who brought boxes of documents submitted by various government agencies to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Secretariat.
The prosecution said it has at least 60 witnesses lined up for the trial.
In May 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman found probable cause to charge Duque and Lao with graft over the alleged illegal transfer of ₱41.46 billion for the procurement of Covid-19 supplies and equipment in 2020.
The complaint stemmed from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's investigation into findings contained in the Commission on Audit's (COA) 2020 annual audit report.
Records showed that from March to December 2020, the DOH transferred a total of ₱41.46 billion to PS-DBM for the procurement of Covid-19-related supplies and equipment, including PPEs, RT-PCR test kits, automated nucleic acid extraction machines, mechanical ventilators, face shields, surgical masks, and cadaver bags.
However, COA noted that the fund transfers were made without the required memoranda of agreement and certificates of previous liquidation.
The Ombudsman also noted that the DOH paid PS-DBM a four-percent service fee amounting to ₱1.66 billion for the procurement of Covid-19 supplies despite having its own procurement organization capable of undertaking the purchases.

Related Tags

SANDIGANBAYAN FRANCISCO DUQUE LLOYD CHRISTOPHER LAO COVID-19 GRAFT
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.