Lacson: Senate ‘not targeting President or anyone’ in pandemic purchases probe

FILE PHOTO: Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. (Alex Nueva España/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate is not targeting President Rodrigo Duterte in its investigation into the government’s pandemic purchases but only wants to know why and how a foreign-led firm bagged more contracts than local producers, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.

“Wala kaming pinupuntiryang tao dito. ‘Di namin pinupuntirya si Presidente Duterte o kung sino man,” Lacson said in an interview on Teleradyo.

(We are not targeting anyone here. We are not targeting President Duterte or anyone.)

“Ang tinitignan natin dito e sa gitna ng pandemya na nagkakanda hirap, maraming frontliners ‘yung umaayaw na nga dahil yung SRA (special risk allowance) ‘di dumadating, tapos hirap na hirap ang kababayan [natin], tapos makakabalita ka ng ganito na ‘yung pera sa halip na mapunta pa sa kababayan natin, doon pa sa China napupunta, tapos mas mahal pa,” he added.

(What we’re looking at is amid the pandemic when many people are struggling, many frontliners are quitting because their SRA is yet to be given and then we hear that instead of giving deals to local suppliers, we are giving them to suppliers from China.)

READ: Pharmally exec admits getting face masks at P23 each from ‘Brother Tiger’ to supply gov’t

The Senate blue ribbon committee, led by Senator Richard Gordon, is currently investigating the P8.6 billion worth of government deals awarded by the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. in 2020 FOR medical goods supply despite the firm not having any track record in fulfilling big-ticket contracts.

During the course of the Senate’s investigation, senators learned that the PS-DBM awarded a 100-million piece contract to local manufacturer EMS Components Assembly on April 27 last year at P13.50 per unit.

READ: ‘Nalugi kami:’ Senators lament local mask maker was ‘cheated’ amid contracts for ’favored’ firm

But Pharmally was given three separate contracts to supply a total of 12.9 million units of face masks with a price tag ranging from P22.50 to P27.72.

In a House hearing Wednesday, former PS-DBM Director Warren Rex Liong said Pharmally’s face masks were not overpriced at P27.72 as it was below the Department of Health’s (DOH) ceiling price of P28 for face masks in March 2020.

READ: Duterte finds House backers in resistance to Senate panel’s Pharmally probe

“Yung record ang magsasalita dito. Dahil ikumpara mo doon sa presyo sa pagbenta ng ibang suppliers, ‘di hamak na mas mataas ‘yung galing sa Pharmally,” Lacson, however, pointed out.

(The record will speak for itself. If you compare the price offered by Pharmally to those of other suppliers, Pharmally’s prices are way higher.)

Further, the senator pointed out that Pharmally lacked the financial capability to be given the said contracts.

In one of the Senate hearings, it was disclosed that Pharmally had borrowed money from former presidential adviser Michael Yang to help them fulfill some of the government’s orders last year.

“Maliwanag na hindi financially capable paano nakakuha ng ganoong kalaking kontrata at wala pa yung purchase order, nakapag-deliver na sila,” Lacson said.

(It’s clear that Pharmally is not financially capable to get these contracts, and even without a purchase order, they were already able to deliver.)

READ: Senators question Pharmally’s ‘same day delivery’ of 500K masks to DBM-PS

“Kung walang nag-impluwensiya eh ewan na natin kung alin ang totoo. Kasi kung wala kang koneksyon, papaano ka makakapag-deliver? Paano ka makakasingil nang hindi ka nakakakuha ng purchase order? Sobrang bilis naman ‘yon,” he added.

(If there is no influence behind the awarding of contracts, then I don’t know what is the truth anymore. Because if Pharmally has no connections, then why were they able to deliver, get payments even without the purchase order? The process was too fast.)

READ: Duterte’s rants push Senate panel to dig deeper into Pharmally’s ‘connections’

Pharmally president Huang Tzu Yen, a Singaporean, has previously denied that they were favored in any way in the government’s procurement of medical supplies in 2020, saying the firm has been “unfairly prejudged.”

READ: Pharmally exec: All our business dealings are aboveboard

Yang. for his part, maintained he has no ties with Pharmally and only introduced the company to Chinese suppliers.

READ: Role of ex-Palace aide bared in Pharmally probe

Lacson, meanwhile, was asked about the clarification made by Commission on Audit (COA) chairman Michael Aguinaldo that their audit report never stated the purchase of pandemic supplies by the PS-DBM was “overpriced.”

READ: COA did not say PS-DBM purchase of pandemic supplies ‘overpriced’ – chair

“Di naman saklaw ng COA report na siyang nag-trigger ng investigation. Sinabi lang doon na walang MOA (memorandum of agreement) eh bakit nalipat ‘yung napakalaking pondo ng DOH sa [PS-DBM], ‘yung P42 billion,” the senator said.

(That was not covered by COA, which report triggered the investigation. What they said was that the DOH transferred P42-billion to PS-DBM without a MOA.)

READ: DOH’s transfer of P42B funds without MOA ‘contrary’ to procurement law — Drilon

“Doon lang naman nagsimula ‘yun, hanggang sa nanganak ng nanganak ‘yung issue, kasi naungkat na ng mga senador ‘yung mga ibang issues pa,” he added.

(That’s where it started, and then eventually the senators were able to uncover many issues.)

KGA