Gordon says Mago secured by ‘certain bodyguards’
SEN. Richard Gordon yesterday said the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has sought the help of the National Bureau of investigation in locating an official of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., who testified last week that her company delivered expired face shields bought by government last year.
Gordon, committee chairman, also said his office has also reached out to Krizle Grace Mago’s alma mater, Saint Paul University in Tuguegarao City, for assistance in contacting her.
Another Pharmally official, director Linconn Ong, asked for an executive session with committee members so he could tell senators what he could not say in a public hearing, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
Later yesterday, Ong backed out of the executive session and said that on the advice of his lawyer, he was “declining your kind invitation for me to participate in the executive session.”
Ong is under Senate custody after he was cited in contempt for being evasive and inconsistent in responding to questions during hearings. He was supposed to be moved to the Pasay City Jail last Friday but the plan was dropped due to concerns for his safety, especially after Mago’s disappearance.
Lacson, in a radio interview, said: ‘Hindi itinuloy ang paglipat ni Ong sa Pasay City Jail.
Humingi siya ng executive session para dun magsalita ng hindi niya masabi sa public hearing (His transfer to the Pasay City Jail did not push through. He asked for executive session where he said he will tell what he cannot say in the public hearing).”
Lacson added Ong said he cannot say everything in the public hearings because of the “Chinese style,” that he will lose face in the Chinese community if he discloses what they have discussed.
Gordon said Mago is no longer in her condominium unit and he has received information that she is being secured by “certain bodyguards.”
He did not give details.
“All we know is she’s no longer in her condominium unit and that we were told she is totally disregarding her phone calls or totally not in control of herself.We don’t know,” Gordon told CNN Philippines in an interview.
“We had a hint she was supposed to be under protection of certain bodyguards. All we know is that she hasn’t answered. We hope that she’s not hurt and intimidated,” he added.
Mago is one of the incorporators of Pharmally who had just a P625,000 paid-up capital when it won around P8 billion worth of contracts from the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).
Mago admitted to the committee in last Friday’s hearing that Pharmally has swindled the government by selling expired face shields, and tampered with the expiry dates of the “sub-standard” face shields upon the order of Pharmally corporate treasurer and secretary Mohit Dargani, who denied her accusations.
After her revelation, Senators Francis Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros motioned that she be asplaced under Senate protection, a request granted by Gordon. Mago then told the committee she will get back to them after the hearing. But since then she made herself “out of reach” according to Gordon.
At the House, Dargani surmised Mago made herself scarce after being “pressured” by senators last week.
“I think she’s just under the pressure of what happened last week when she got pressured by the Senate. But that’s just my opinion,” he said.
Dargani said Mago could have gone into hiding after seeing that Ong, her boss, was detained at the Senate and could even be transferred to the Pasay City jail.
“I think after what she saw what happened to Mr. Linconn Ong, one of her bosses, I think that really frightened her and put her in a position to just keep saying yes. I have not spoken to Ms. Mago so I don’t know exactly,” he said.
Gordon said Mago’s testimony is damaging since it indicates the amount of effort “that has been done to try and deceive and swindle the government and the Filipino people.”
Gordon asked Mago to surface or she may be treated as a fugitive.
“Flight is an indication of guilt. Pag hindi nagpakita o nagpapakita, may tinatago (If she refused to appear, then it could mean she is hiding something). She becomes a fugitive in my book if she refuses to appear,” he said.
Gordon, asked if President Duterte is behind an alleged cover-up of anomalies surrounding the PS-DBM’s grant of contracts to Pharmally, said in an online briefing, “It all leads to Malacañang. Who appointed Lao? Who is defending Yang? Who is attacking the Commission on Audit, the Senate?”
He noted Duterte’s defense of Michael Yang, a Chinese businessman he appointed as presidential economic adviser in 2018, and who is suspected by some senators to be financing Pharmally.
Former Budget undersecretary Christopher Lao was head of the PS-DBM when the contracts were awarded.
The Senate Blue Ribbon committee is investigating the alleged overpriced purchase from Pharmally.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque reiterated there is no evidence that the purchases were overpriced, and that the alleged anomalies will be linked to Duterte.
“Anong maili-link kay Presidente? Ingay lang po. Desperado manalo sa eleksiyon (What are they going to link to the President? It is just noise. They are desperate to win the next election),” he said.
He added Mago’s testimony on the expired medical items still needs physical evidence.
“Talk is cheap,” he added.
Roque also said Duterte is expected to continue to talk and defend the administration against the alleged procurement of overpriced medical supplies. Duterte is scheduled to address the country twice a week or every Monday night to be followed by a second address within the week.
Gordon accused Duterte of being “part of the cover-up” on the issue, saying his acts betrayed his repeated claims that there is no irregularity in the contracts.
“Bakit di niya maipaliwanag kung bakit gusto niyang ipatigil ito. Galit na galit siya sa COA tapos kung ano ano na ang sinasabi sa ngayon (He could not even explained why he want to stop the investigation. He is angry with COA and he is saying so many things now),” Gordon said.
Gordon also shrugged off the threat of Ong’s lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, to sue senators conducting the probe for allegedly violating the rights of his client,
However, he took exception to Topacio’s calling the Blue Ribbon Committee a “kangaroo court,” adding he will not allow him or anybody to badmouth the committee.
Topacio earlier said that his client decided to withdrew his earlier offer for an executive session with the senators saying “this is not a fair forum, a kangaroo forum.”
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said: “Never threaten or call the Senate names! What do they expect by threatening the Senate? That we will roll over and die? Will never happen,” he said.
Pro-administration congressmen again came to Malacañang’s rescue.
At the continuation of the hearing of the House committee on good government, they focused on the claim that no one was reported to have been exposed to COVID-19 for wearing the expired face shields supplied by Pharmally.
“Wala naman po sa pagkakaalam namin po (None, as far as we know),” Health Undersecretary Carolina Vidal-Taiño told panel chair Rep. Michael Aglipay (PL, DIWA) who asked the DOH if anyone got infected for wearing an expired face shield.
Secretary Francisco Duque said all the two million face shields were properly distributed and used by health workers.
During interpellation of committee vice chair Rep. Johnny Pimentel (PDP-Laban, Surigao del Sur), Duque III said not a single health worker had complained for using an expired face shield.
“Nagamit po ang mga ito (These were all used). I would like to set the record straight, two million po ‘yong mga face shield na pinag-uusapan natin (we’re talking about two million face shields) and based on the report to me, all two million have been distributed to the different regions ,” Duque said.
Taiño confirmed this, saying the face shields, even if expired, were of “great help to health workers.”
Pimentel said there should be no issue in the use of expired face shields because the government did not lose a single centavo to Pharmally.
“The issue is not the expiry, but if they were used by frontliners,” said Pimentel. “We have already established that the face shields were utilized. Meaning, wala hong lugi (government had no losses).”
Pimentel also asked if the face shields really have expiry dates since these are obviously not a perishable commodity like food.
Duque, who said the DOH is also already investigating the matter, clarified that the established shelf life of face shields is 36 months or three years since the styrofoam part, which is usually glued on the top of the face shield which touches the wearer’s forehead, “is subject to shelf life.”
Aglipay directed the committee secretariat to write a letter to the Senate to be able to ensure Ong’s participation in the next hearing on October 4.
The committee is also mulling on the issuance of a subpoena to compel Mago to testify before the panel. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Wendell Vigilia
