THE Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the administrative charges filed against former health secretary Francisco Duque III over the transfer of P41.46 billion from the Department of Health to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) in 2020.

A 10-page order approved by Ombudsman Samuel Martires on September 30 granted Duque's motion for reconsideration.

Duque filed a consolidated motion for reconsideration last May 14 and a supplement on May 20 in connection with the Office of the Ombudsman's decision that found him guilty of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

In granting Duque's motion, the Ombudsman ruled he was not a "proper subject of an administrative complaint."

It said that "as pointed out in the Supplement to the MR, Duque had been separated from the service since 30 June 2022. Also, there is no evidence that Duque's separation was attended by bad faith."

As far as the Ombudsman is concerned, Duque ceased to be health secretary when President Rodrigo Duterte's term ended on June 30, 2022.

"Such separation was a necessary consequence of the coterminous nature of his appointment as DOH Secretary," it said.

Because the issues on the administrative charges have been rendered moot, it said it "sees no point in belaboring the other arguments relating thereto."

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