The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed all administrative charges against former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III concerning the controversial purchase of P41 billion worth of COVID-19 supplies in 2020.
The charges of grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and gross neglect of duty, which were initially filed against Duque in August of this year, have been officially dropped.
This dismissal follows the approval of Duque’s motion for reconsideration after he and a co-accused were found guilty by the agency on May 6.
As a result of the earlier ruling, Duque had been removed from his position as DOH Secretary and stripped of his retirement benefits, with a permanent ban from holding any government position.
However, in August, the Ombudsman ruled that Duque could no longer be subject to administrative complaints as his term as DOH Secretary had already ended.