PHARMALLY Pharmaceutical Corporation imported P8.5 billion worth of medical supplies that it provided to the Department of Health through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management but P7.9 billion of which are “undeclared importations.”
This was disclosed yesterday by Raymond Abrea, a certified public accountant who examined the financial statements submitted by Pharmally to the PS-DBM and Bureau of Internal Revenue, as the Senate Blue Ribbon committee held its 17th hearing on the mishandled funds by the DOH on its procurement of pandemic supplies.
Abrea said he examined Pharmally’s financial statement and discovered that the company only declared P619 million and attached pertinent documents to support it. The balance of P7.9 billion was undeclared and unexplained.
Abrea also testified that he found out that the PS-DBM paid Pharmally some P7.3 billion for its purchases, but the company paid P3.5 billion from the amount to “unknown suppliers.”
“Pharmally has only paid P3.2 billion to its suppliers, Evermore and Acme, out of the P7.3 billion paid by the PS-DBM. We cannot also find out where the P3.5 billion Pharmally paid to ‘unknown suppliers’,” Abrea told senators.
Mohit Dargani and Linconn Ong, Pharmally corporate secretary and director, respectively, failed to explain the mysterious payment and said the financial statement was prepared by an outsourced accountant.
Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon branded the sales as “fictitious” and said these could be fraudulent transactions that were declared for tax deduction purposes.
Also during the hearing, Abrea said Rose Nono Lin, Pharmally Biological Company Inc. chief financial officer/corporate treasurer, did not fully declare her earnings from 2016 to 2020 as records showed that she invested P136 million in the company during the said years, but only had an accumulated income of P4.6 million.
This was likewise not commensurate with the properties Lin purchased over the years.
Records show Lin was able to purchase a Toyota Land Cruiser 2020 model, a Range Rover SC 2020 model, a Lexus LX 450D 2019 model, a Toyota Alphard 2019 model, and a Cadillac Escalade ESV 2018 model.
Also, Lin was able to buy real estate properties, including a 1,060 square meter property in Ayala-Alabang in 2018; a 2,341 sqm lot in Multinational Village in Paranaque City in 2017; a 5,343 sqm lot in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu from 2016 to 2018; a 6,300 sqm lot in San Bartolome, Novaliches in Quezon City in 2017; a 400 sqm property in Congressional Village in 2014; a 216 sqm lot in Sangandaan, QC in 2011, and a 708 sqm lot in BF Homes Paranaque City in 2021.
Lin is running as representative of QC’s fifth district in next year’s elections.
At the same time, Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, asked authorities and the public to help capture Jayson Uson and Gerald Cruz, whom he said conspired with Pharmally officials to plunder government money.
He said Uson and Cruz have gone into hiding.
Gordon said Uson and Cruz hold key positions in several firms linked to former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang, who introduced Pharmally officials to President Duterte.
He said Cruz also holds the lease contract of Yang’s residence in Forbes Park in Makati City.
Gordon sought the help of the Department of Foreign Affairs to help locate Uson,, who has reportedly fled the country and is supposedly hiding in Japan.
The Senate panel has been investigating the alleged irregularities in the PS-DBM’s purchase of pandemic supplies since August 18 this year.
