Senate tries to serve subpoena to Pharmally exec, but address was wrong

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) tried to serve a subpoena to a Pharmally Biological Company official to be present before the blue ribbon committee hearing on Monday, but the office address in Makati was apparently wrong.

Committee secretariat director-general Rodolfo Quimbo told committee chair Senator Richard Gordon that they tried to serve a subpoena to Pharmally Biological Company’s chief financial officer Rose Nono Lin and her husband Lin Wei Xiong, but their office address along Chino Roces Avenue featured a different company.

Pharmally Biological used to be the parent company of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., which is subject of the investigation on overpriced pandemic supplies like face masks, face shields, and personal protective equipment (PPE) sets.

“Your honor, a subpoena was issued by the committee, the OSAA in their report said that the subpoena to both were not served because according to […] (the) guard on duty at the administrative office of La Fuerza, the tenant of Warehouse 8 is Ideastream,” Quimbo told the committee.

“He also said that since he started working in La Fuerza eight years ago, Ideastream has always been the tenant of Warehouse 8. According to security guard […] Ideastream has not resumed their operations since the start of the pandemic,” he added.

The address was obtained from Pharmally’s incorporation papers.

But Gordon said that he has received a letter from Lin’s lawyers stating that they have not received any subpoena from the Senate. It also provided an address in Quezon City where the orders could be delivered.

“I have a letter here coming from the law offices of Siguion-Reyna, Montecillo & Ongsiako, and it says ‘we write on behalf of our client’ — it says the Re: residence address of Ms. Rose Nono Lin — ‘in relation to the Senate blue ribbon committee’s investigation on the 2020 COA report and other issues related to the budget utilization of the Department of Health’,” Gordon said.

“‘However, as of the time no subpoena has been served on our client’ […] If you have issued the subpoena already, then issue it right now, send the OSAA there, so we can know what here disposition is. And I’m sure she’s watching on television right now, please proceed very quickly because we need her, she’s vital,” he added.

Gordon then asked Quimbo to request the OSAA to deliver the subpoena immediately so that Lin can appear during Monday’s hearing. However, the Senator also noted that the easier thing to do was to just appear before the Senate committee and testify.

“And I don’t know why she wouldn’t come in if you have nothing to hide, she should’ve said — you don’t need a lawyer to come in — and if she’s very open about her affairs, then she can say ‘although I did not get a subpoena I can appear here’. That would have been the better thing to do,” he claimed.

The Lin couple were asked to attend the hearing after their links to Michael Yang, former economic adviser to President Rodrigo Duterte, were unearthed by senators.

Yang was subject of last hearing’s discussions, after it was revealed that he linked Pharmally to Chinese medical suppliers, while guaranteeing that Pharmally can pay.

Pharmally president Huang Tzu Yen also admitted during the hearing that they sought Yang’s help financially. Yang was cited in contempt last Friday, for making wrong statements, hence another arrest order for him.

The blue ribbon committee is investigating the issue of overpriced pandemic supplies, after COA flagged several items in DOH’s COVID-19 funds.

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

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