Recto, Ledesma far from cleared
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A group of doctors and lawyers filed a motion Thursday asking the Office of the Ombudsman to reconsider its dismissal of plunder and graft charges against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and a former health official over a controversial P60-billion fund transfer.
The initial complaints accused Recto and former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president Emmanuel Ledesma of plunder, graft and technical malversation.
The charges stemmed from the 2024 transfer of P60 billion in excess PhilHealth funds to the National Treasury.
In a resolution released 9 June, the Ombudsman dismissed the cases, ruling there was a lack of prima facie evidence — meaning insufficient initial evidence — to prove the officials committed a crime in the course of their duties.
However, Rodel Taton, a lawyer representing the complainants, argued that the anti-graft body failed to consider the broader context of Recto’s legislative actions before he joined the Cabinet as Finance secretary.
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