Manila, July 11 -- The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of criminal charges against former Department of Education (DepEd) secretary Leonor Briones and 13 others for their alleged involvement in the purchase of PHP2.4 billion in laptops for public school teachers during the height of the pandemic lockdowns.

In a 106-page resolution dated July 4, the Ombudsman also found probable cause to file charges for the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019), falsification and perjury against DepEd officials Annalyn Sevilla, Alain Pascua, Salvador Malana III, Abram Abanil, Marcelo Bragado, Alex Ladanga, and Selwyn Briones; as well as the Procurement Service - Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) officials Lloy...