MANILA — A Commission on Audit (COA) official took the witness stand in the graft trial of former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and former Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) chief Lloyd Christopher Lao before the Sandiganbayan.

In a report, it said that COA records officer Ejlun Jumamil testified as custodian of audit documents related to the findings on the P41-billion fund transfer at the center of the case, which involved the alleged transfer of Department of Health (DOH) funds to the PS-DBM for the procurement of anti-COVID-19 supplies.

Prosecutors alleged that the DOH transferred P41 billion to the PS-DBM, then headed by Lao, for the purchase of pandemic-related supplies, including transactions linked to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.

The procurement covered medical items such as detection kits, nucleic acid extraction machines, mechanical ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE), surgical masks, cadaver bags, and various testing kits.

Ombudsman prosecutors further alleged that Duque approved the fund transfer despite claims that it would not expedite implementation and despite the DOH’s capability to handle the procurement.

Following Jumamil’s testimony, defense lawyers for Duque and Lao waived cross-examination after both sides agreed that the COA witness had no direct involvement in the fund transfer and was not part of the audit team that reviewed the DOH expenditures.

Government prosecutors also attempted to introduce what they described as “new evidence,” but the defense objected, questioning whether it had been included in the prosecution’s pre-trial submissions or list of exhibits.

The prosecution said the material had not been included in the pre-trial brief because it was not yet available at the time.

The Sandiganbayan First Division ruled that the admissibility and merits of the proposed evidence will be addressed at a later stage of the proceedings.

The next hearings are scheduled for July 6 and July 20, with prosecutors set to present an Ombudsman prosecutor as their next witness.