Leachon files supplemental complaint at Ombudsman adding ex-DBM Sec Pangandaman to PhilHealth, PDIC plunder case

Dr. Tony Leachon filed a supplemental complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday, May 28, 2026, adding former Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman as a respondent in the PhilHealth and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation fund transfer case. The supplemental pleading charges Pangandaman with technical malversation under the Revised Penal Code, violation of section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, and administrative offenses tied to her role in budget execution during the 2025 sweep. The amended complaint impleads Pangandaman "only to the extent of acts, approvals, issuances, budget execution measures, or omissions occurring during her tenure as Secretary of Budget and Management," framing her exposure as the DBM official whose office released the Special Allotment Release Orders that moved ₱60 billion in PhilHealth reserves and ₱107 billion in PDIC funds to the National Treasury in 2025. The transfers were authorized by a special provision of the 2024 General Appropriations Act later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in December 2025. The supplemental pleading builds on the original May 25, 2026 Leachon complaint, which named Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, acting Finance Secretary Frederick Go, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa, former acting Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo, PhilHealth president Dr. Edwin Mercado, former PhilHealth president Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., PDIC president Roberto Tan, and other PDIC directors. Pangandaman was DBM Secretary during the 2024 GAA passage and the early period of the fund release; Toledo succeeded her in acting capacity. GMA News reported that it reached out to Pangandaman for comment and that none was available at the time of publication. The preliminary investigation at the Ombudsman now spans all named cabinet officials, with respondents directed to file counter-affidavits in the coming weeks.