Ombudsman indicts Briones, Lao, others in P2.4B laptop scandal

The Office of the Ombudsman has indicted former Education Secretary Leonor Briones, former Budget Undersecretary Christopher Lao, and over a dozen others for graft and falsification charges related to a P2.4 billion procurement scandal involving outdated laptops for public school teachers.

Among those charged are DepEd officials involved in the laptop procurement process, including DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Macam Sevilla, Alain Bustamante Pascua, Salvador Malana III, Abram Abanil, and Marcelo Bragado; as well as PS-DBM officials Lloyd Christopher Lao, Jasonmer Uayan, Ulysses Mora; Marwan Amil and Paul Estrada.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has pledged to cooperate with the Office of the Ombudsman in filing charges against former officials of the Procurement Service of the DBM (PS-DBM) over the procurement scandal.

In 2022, the Commission on Audit flagged the procurement of reportedly outdated and 'pricey' laptops priced at P53,800 each during the shift to distance learning amid the pandemic.

The Ombudsman also ordered perjury charges against three respondents for falsely testifying under oath during the Senate blue ribbon committee probe on the issue.