ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Ombudsman asked to review resolution dismissing plunder, graft complaints vs Recto, Ledesma

Ombudsman asked to review resolution dismissing plunder, graft complaints vs Recto, Ledesma

Published Jun 18, 2026 02:21 pm
(MB FILE PHOTO/JEL SANTOS)
(MB FILE PHOTO/JEL SANTOS)
Doctors and lawyers on Thursday, June 18, urged the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) to review its resolution dismissing plunder, graft and administrative complaints lodged against Executive Secretary and former Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph Recto and then Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma Jr.
The OMB, through a consolidated resolution dated June 2, 2026, found no prima facie evidence to hold Recto and Ledesma liable for plunder, graft, technical malversation, and grave misconduct in connection with the fund transfer.
In a 49-page motion for reconsideration, filed on June 18, the complainants claimed that the OMB “committed errors of law and fact” in dismissing charges against Recto and Ledesma related to the P60-billion transfer of PhilHealth reserve funds to the National Treasury.
“The motion seeks reconsideration of the dismissal of the criminal complaints for technical malversation, violations of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, plunder, and the administrative charge of grave misconduct,” they said in a statement.
Per the complainants, Recto, who was Batangas’ 6th District Representative in 2023 before becoming DOF secretary in January 2024, was “prominent in crafting Republic Act No. 11975 or the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2024.”
“Recto, who was also Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives at the time, was one of the 12 members who attended the bicameral conference committee for the 2024 national budget in November 2023,” they stated.
The complainants claimed that Special Provision 1(d) of the 2024 budget law was only inserted during these proceedings, as neither the House nor Senate versions included this provision.
The OMB, according to complainants, erred in requiring proof of intent in a charge for technical malversation, pointing out that it is a mala prohibita offense where criminal intent is not an element of the crime.
“[C]riminal intent is not an element of technical malversation. The law punishes the act of diverting public property earmarked by law or ordinance for a particular public purpose to another public purpose,” they said.
The complainants stressed that Recto and Ledesma should have been fully aware of the legal restrictions governing PhilHealth funds because of their positions as Finance secretary and PhilHealth chief, respectively.
The motion claimed that the respondents “deliberately, willfully, and maliciously acted with evident bad faith, dishonesty, and grave misconduct” when they facilitated the transfer of P60 billion in PhilHealth reserve funds to the National Treasury.
It stated that, since technical malversation is a mala prohibita offense, “good faith” and “honest belief” are immaterial because the offense focuses on the act of diversion of funds rather than intent.
President Marcos signed Republic Act No. 11975 or the 2024 GAA into law on Dec. 20, 2023.

Related Tags

Office of the Ombudsman Ralph Recto Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. PhilHealth plunder graft technical malversation grave misconduct Department of Finance fund transfer
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; } }

{{ static_articles_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.