Says Duterte fears he will be linked to anomaly
SEN. Richard Gordon said President Duterte is defending his former economic adviser Michael Yang and other individuals involved in the purchase of alleged overpriced medical supplies because the President feels he might be implicated in the controversy.
His statement made in a radio interview on Tuesday night came after Duterte, in a public address aired Tuesday morning, said his Cabinet officials would have to ask him for permission to attend hearings, because the inquiry has no purpose but to publicly berate his appointees.
“I think he knows na maaari siyang masangkot kaya ngayon pa lang pinipilit niyang masira yung imbestigasyon, at pinipilit niya lahat ng isyu… mawala ang atensiyon ng tao. Kasi ngayon lang siya nayanig eh. Dati kasi walang tumitindig, di ba? (I think he knows he might be implicated that’s why he is trying to destroy the investigation and he’s trying to divert the public attention from the investigation. He’s now rattled, unlike before that nobody dared stand against him),” Gordon told radio dzBB on Tuesday night.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, said the Senate will dig deeper into the issue to find out the “connections” of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. which he said could be a dummy company of Yang.
In a hearing this week, senators learned from Pharmally officials that they have borrowed money from Yang to pay for the medical supplies they ordered from suppliers. In an earlier hearing, Gordon presented a video clip showing Yang, a Chinese businessman, introducing officials of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation to President Duterte in an event in 2017.
Pharmally is now the subject of the committee’s probe after senators found that the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) last year awarded to the firm billions worth of contracts despite having a paid-up capital of only P625,000.
The contracts involved the supply of face masks, face shields, and other personal protective equipment needed for government’s COVID-19 response efforts. The PS-DBM, then under former Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, used funds of the Department of Health for the procurement.
Gordon, citing Lao’s appointment history, said the latter works directly under the President, even if the PS-DBM is an attached agency of the DBM.
He cited the testimony of recently resigned Budget Secretary Wendell Avisado who said Lao was not directly reporting to him although “technically,” he is under him.
In Duterte’s latest pre-recorded “Talk to the People” address, he slammed Gordon and said he will campaign against the senator if he runs for any elective post next year.
Duterte has been defending Yang, saying it is only natural for his former economic adviser to engage in business ventures because he is a businessman.
Gordon said Duterte should have asked Yang about allegations that he is involved with Pharmally, instead of attacking the Senate.
Overall Ombudsman Warren Liong, PS-DBM director when the initial contract worth P8.7 billion was awarded to Pharmally, denied there was overpricing.
Liong said that on March 16, 2020, the DOH issued a price freeze on face masks, fixing it at P28 per piece and the government purchased the item at “P27.72 some even lower.”
Liong also said PS-DBM followed procedures for the emergency procurement under the Bayanihan To Heal as One Act of 2020, or Bayanihan 1.
“Under Bayanihan 1 we were allowed to directly negotiate but we still underwent market price analysis. We chose those who can deliver immediately or at least at the nearest possible time, who had the lowest price quotation among suppliers and who can deliver at the right time and compliant with the technical specifications of the DOH,” Liong said in mixed Filipino and English.
Liong also denied that Palace officials had tried to influence PS-DBM to procure supplies from Pharmally, and said he was not close to Sen. Christopher Go, long-time Duterte aide, and confirmed he served as a consultant when the President was vice mayor of Davao City.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said it is Malacañang’s loss if Duterte would not allow his Cabinet men to attend Senate inquiries. He said they have resource persons who can be compelled by the Senate to attend, and documents to proceed with the investigation.
Lacson also said the President will only prevent his Cabinet members from attending Senate investigations if he is hiding something.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo justified Duterte’s order to the Cabinet.
“Rambling inquiries that partake of the nature of witch hunts or fishing expeditions should be refrained from, particularly those that practically prevent a body or agency of government from performing its functions… It behooves Congress to keep itself in check in its ostensible conduct of official business, lest it transgress the limits prescribed by the Constitution,” he said. — With Wendell Vigilia and Jocelyn Montemayor
