A FORMER government procurement official has attempted to leave the country despite being under an immigration lookout bulletin over his alleged involvement in anomalies in pandemic supply contracts, a senator said on Wednesday.
Lloyd Christopher A. Lao, former head of the Procurement Service under the Budget department, had sought clearance from the immigration watch list but was denied in a 10-5 vote by senators.
“He asked for clearance. The majority of the Blue Ribbon Committee members has agreed that this will not be given to him,” Senator Francis N. Tolentino, committee chairman, said in a mix of English and Filipino during an interview at Kapihan sa Manila Bay on Wednesday.
“But I was informed that there was an attempt last month to (fly to) Singapore, but he was stopped at the immigration (procedure),” he added.
The watch list request was issued by the same committee under the previous Congress after he was probed for his role in the award of a multibillion-peso contract to a local contractor of allegedly overpriced face masks and shields.
BusinessWorld reached out to Mr. Lao for comment but did not receive a response before the print deadline.
The upper chamber is set to continue its investigative hearing, in aid of legislation, on laptop purchases and scholarship fund disbursement by education agencies that were flagged by state auditors, on Thursday.
The laptop contracts were made through the Procurement Service.
“He is being required to attend the current Blue Ribbon hearings,” Mr. Tolentino said. “His attendance is being required relative to this laptop deal.”
“In fairness to him, he is being cooperative. He attends the hearings. He responds,” he added.
In a letter to Mr. Tolentino presented at an Aug. 25 committee hearing on the laptop controversy, Mr. Lao said the lookout for an order against him should be lifted since there were no pending cases or arrest warrants against him. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
