SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday said he sees possible criminal liabilities of key players in the purchase of alleged overpriced medical supplies by the government from a small pharmaceutical company.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Gatchalian said former budget undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, head of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), can be criminally liable for awarding some P11 billion worth of contracts last year to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation which only had P625,000 capital.
He said Lao is at the “center” of the controversy.
Senate majority leader Franklin Drilon last month said Lao could not “escape liability” after the latter admitted he did not look into the background of Pharmally which he noted was formed only six months before it got the contracts to supply medical items.
Gatchalian also supported the statement of Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee which is investigating the award of contracts to Pharmally, that Krizle Grace Mago committed perjury.
Gatchalian said Pharmally officials can be liable for perjury for giving differing testimonies before the committee, and have been evading questions asked by senators.
He pointed to Mago, administrative officer of Pharmally, who gave conflicting testimonies when she testified before the Blue Ribbon and at the House of Representatives
In the Senate hearing, Mago corroborated the statement of an unidentified Pharmally warehouse man that they tampered with the expiration dates of face shields the company delivered to the PS-DBM, which were to be distributed to healthcare workers. But during a hearing at the house, Mago recanted, saying they did not “swindle” the government and what she said during the Blue Ribbon committee hearing was a “pressured response.”
The Blue Ribbon committee is set to come out with its interim report today on its initial findings after 11 hearings . A 12th hearing is scheduled tomorrow.
The Blue Ribbon committee started its hearing on August 18 on the mishandled P67 billion COVID-19 response fund of the Department of Health but the probe later shifted to the P42 billion out of the P67 billion transferred by the DOH to the PS-DBM. It was also learned during the hearings that the PS-DBM bought overpriced face shields, face masks, and personal protective equipment from Pharmally.
