MANILA — The Court of Appeals (CA) has cleared a procurement official over the controversial acquisition of COVID-19 supplies during the pandemic, while upholding the dismissal of several former Budget and Management officials.

In a 49-page decision promulgated on March 31, the CA’s 15th Division granted the petition for review filed by Webster Laureñana and dismissed the administrative case against him.

“This Court is persuaded that the records are bereft of substantial evidence sufficient to sustain a finding of administrative liability for grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service,” the ruling stated.

However, the appellate court affirmed the findings of the Office of the Ombudsman against former Budget undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao and former officials Warren Rex Liong, Christine Marie Suntay, Augusto Ylagan, and Amado Tandoc.

“After a thorough review of the records and petitioners’ respective arguments, we find no sufficient basis to overturn the Ombudsman’s findings with respect to petitioners Lao, Liong, Ylagan, Suntay, and Tandoc III,” the court said.

The CA also ruled that the administrative proceedings before the Ombudsman were properly initiated, rejecting the petitioners’ claim that referrals from Richard Gordon and Risa Hontiveros were insufficient.

It said that under the Ombudsman’s administrative rules, authority to initiate such referrals is vested in the chairperson or any member of a Senate or House committee.

The court further upheld the Ombudsman’s finding that Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation did not meet the qualifications of a legally, technically, and financially capable supplier under emergency procurement rules.

It noted that the firm had a paid-up capital of only P625,000, was incorporated in September 2019, and lacked a track record proportionate to the contracts it received.

“As a final note, few betrayals are more grievous than the corruption of public office in a time of national suffering,” the CA said.

“Amid a health crisis that demanded from every public servant the utmost integrity, restraint, and fidelity to the common good, any use of official power for private advantage becomes especially reprehensible. Accountability, therefore, must follow,” it added.