Former BGN Deputy Head Lodewyk Pusung Files Pretrial Motion Over Free Nutritious Meals Case

Former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Lodewyk Pusung, has officially filed a pretrial motion challenging his designation as a suspect in an alleged corruption case concerning the management of the Free Nutritious Meals programme for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The legal action was taken after the Attorney General’s Office detained him on Wednesday, 3 June 2026. Pusung objects to the procedures used in his naming as a suspect and his subsequent detention by investigators from the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes. Based on information gathered, the pretrial motion has been registered with the court to examine the formal validity of the investigation process that has ensnared him. Through his legal team, Pusung contends that the evidence used to name him a suspect in the case does not meet the required legal elements. The case relates to alleged irregularities in the management of the Free Nutritious Meals programme, which is one of the national strategic initiatives. Pusung is suspected of involvement in policy-making that caused state losses during his tenure as Deputy Head of the BGN. The court is scheduled to hold the first hearing of the pretrial motion in the near future. The initial agenda will typically involve hearing the reading of the motion by the applicant and the response from the respondent, the Attorney General’s Office. The Attorney General’s Office previously asserted that the suspect designation was based on at least two pieces of sufficient evidence and was conducted through an in-depth case review. The detention was carried out for investigative purposes to prevent the suspect from fleeing or destroying evidence. The Attorney General’s Office has stated that it is prepared to face the pretrial lawsuit and is confident that all legal processes have been conducted in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code.