SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has suspended for 90 days the chief and 3 other employees of the Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) over the alleged illegal procurement of hospital equipment in 2004.
The Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement on Wednesday, November 4, that the Sandiganbayan has granted its prosecutors’ motion to suspend QMMC Chief Dr Angeles de Leon for 90 days without pay, as she stands trial for alleged violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Also suspended are QMMC nurse Luz Padua, nutritionist dietician Milagrina Jacinto, and medical technologist Michael Raquel.
The court directed the Health Secretary to implement the suspension.
The charges are in connection with the alleged illegal procurement of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine worth P44.9 million ($958,700) from Fernando Medical Enterprises, Incorporated, in 2004.
In the court’s 5-page resolution, Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz underscored that Section 13 of RA No. 3019 “unequivocally provides that the accused public official shall be suspended from office while the criminal prosecution is pending in court.”
The court added that the law “leaves no room for interpretation such that the court has neither the discretion nor duty to determine whether preventive suspension is required to prevent the accused from using his office to intimidate witnesses or frustrate his prosecution or continue committing malfeasance in office.” – Rappler.com
$1 = P46.83
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