Senate suspends hearing in consideration of Pharmally exec infected with COVID

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate blue ribbon committee has decided to suspend its hearing on the procurement of the alleged overpriced pandemic supplies to allow the director of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., who is infected with COVID-19, to have some rest.

According to the committee chair, Senator Richard Gordon, the suspension is in consideration of the resource person, Pharmally director Linconn Ong, who admitted during the hearing that he has COVID-19.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, who was then set to resume his questioning after a one-hour recess, said that he does not want to put the resource person in more stress, hoping that resting over the weekend would allow Ong to return on Monday and answer more questions.

“Well you know, he has COVID-19, he has to rest.  I don’t want to further strain him but we hope, if we can resume next week, Mr. Chairman, then (I) can proceed with the questions and give Mr. Linconn Ong the chance to rest over the weekend,”  Pangilinan said.

Ong was answering questions on the involvement of Michael Yang, President Rodrigo Duterte’s former economic adviser, in the purchase of face masks and face shields, along with personal protective equipment (PPE) from suppliers in China.

The procurement is being questioned for being overpriced, after the Commission on Audit (COA) report on the Department of Health (DOH) flagged the transactions.

While Gordon agreed with Pangilinan, he maintained that the arrest order against Ong stands, after he was cited for contempt for being evasive in questions thrown by the senators.  But as a precautionary measure due to his infection, personnel from the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) would instead be dispatched to his residence to guard him.

“He is under arrest, that’s the parliamentary situation right now […] he is already under arrest, so my position recommended to the body is that we send the OSAA there so that he would not be allowed to go out, and he will be there.  And if he has to go out we have to provide an ambulance for him in case he got sick,” Gordon said.

Before the session was suspended, Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III suggested that the committee let Ong take his leave and continue with the questioning of other resource persons — especially Yang as Pharmally president Huang Tzu Yen admitted during the hearing that they sought Yang’s help financially.

Yang was cited in contempt for making wrong statements, hence another arrest order for him.

READ: Pharmally ‘borrowed money’ from Yang, to be paid with gov’t funds – exec | ‘Evasive’ Yang, Pharmally exec face another arrest warrant from Senate 

But both Gordon and Minority floor leader Senator Franklin Drilon agreed that it might be better to suspend the hearings as the legislators and the resource persons are already exhausted with what has transpired in the discussions.

Eventually, after Ong provided his address and contact details to the committee secretary, Gordon suspended the hearing.  It will resume on Monday, 10 a.m.

The arrest order for Yang, meanwhile, still stands.

Earlier, Yang told Lacson through an interpreter that he had nothing to do with Pharmally, and that he only introduced the company to Chinese suppliers.  However, Ong then revealed that Yang made a guarantee to the Chinese suppliers that Pharmally can pay up once it receives the government disbursement.

READ: Yang guaranteed to Chinese suppliers that Pharmally can pay — exec 

Then eventually, Huang said that they borrowed money from Yang to ensure that they would be able to purchase the supplies.

This includes the P42 billion given to the Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service (PS-DBM) — which was then used to purchase the alleged overpriced face masks and face shields, along with PPE sets.

JPV