LINGAYEN–The panel of the Ombudsman looking into the case of the multi-million pesos worth of buried medicines found at the capitol grounds has narrowed down its investigation to three issues.

Paterno Orduña, executive   assistant   at the provincial government tasked to head a provincial task force on the issue, said the Ombudsman panel is set to resolve the following: 1) determine the culpability in the illegal disposal of said medicines; 2) non-compliance to existing environmental laws, and 3) possible overpricing of medicines procured by the provincial government.

In a report submitted to the provincial board, Orduña said the Ombudsman investigating panel led by Investigator Gerald Basco coordinated with him on August 25 for the authentication of certain documents needed in their investigation.

The Ombudsman panel has also sought legal advice from the local offices of the Department of Health and the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on the possible filing of cases against those found to have committed infraction of laws.

“The Ombudsman admitted that the prosecution of the case is a test case involving a local government unit,” Orduña said as he added that the panel members noted the complexity of the case, therefore, requiring a long and tedious process.

The panel, he said, intends to file administrative cases initially and the criminal complaints will follow later.

Subpoenas have also been issued by the Ombudsman to various offices, including the General Services Office, Provincial Health Office, Population Commission office, Department of Health-region 1 and the Commission on Audit.

The buried expired medicines and medical supplies unearthed in two separate locations around the Capitol complex following information tipped off by an anonymous source, are suspected to have been illegally disposed of during the past administration.#

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