A group of doctors and lawyers has urged the Office of the Ombudsman to reconsider its dismissal of plunder and graft complaints against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and former PhilHealth chief Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. over the diversion of P60 billion in reserve funds.
Lawyer Rodel Taton led the filing of a motion for reconsideration before the Office of the Ombudsman. The motion was filed a week after the anti-graft body dismissed the complaints for lack of prima facie evidence.
The complainants claimed the Ombudsman committed errors of law and fact by requiring proof of intent for technical malversation. They cited the doctrine of mala prohibita, arguing that the law punishes the act of diverting public property regardless of motive.
The motion stated that Recto and Ledesma deliberately acted with evident bad faith when they facilitated the transfer of the funds. It noted that Special Provision 1(d) of the 2024 budget law allowing the transfer was inserted only during bicameral proceedings.
PhilHealth remitted P60 billion in three tranches before the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order. The high court later declared the transfer void and unconstitutional. The Ombudsman found no sufficient basis to establish bad faith on the part of Recto and Ledesma.
