Be a listener, not a ‘defender:’ How Samira Gutoc views an independent Senate during probes

MANILA, Philippines — To be as non-partisan as one can be during Senate investigations, senatorial aspirant Samira Gutoc stressed the need to listen to all sides without being a “defender” of individuals or groups being placed under inquiry.

“To be the non-partisan person that you can be. Na wala kang dinedepensahan na interes,” Gutoc said in an INQside Look interview when asked how she can push for an independent Senate should she win, especially if Manila Mayor Isko Moreno secures the presidency.

Gutoc is running for the Senate in 2022 under Aksyon Demokratiko, Moreno’s party. She sought a senatorial seat in 2019 but did not make it to the top 12.

President Rodrigo Durterte and the Senate have found themselves in conflict amid an ongoing investigation into the government’s purchases of medical goods, including allegedly overpriced face masks, shields and other supplies, at the height of the pandemic last year.

During the course of the inquiry led by the Senate blue ribbon committee, senators have repeatedly questioned the Department of Health’s transfer of P42 billion to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) for the purchase of pandemic response supplies.

A portion of this amount went to over P8.6 billion worth of contracts awarded to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. 

“I think that’s one of the questions right now is who are we lawyering for? Are we lawyering for these contractors na Pharmally?” Gutoc went on.

To pursue a non-partisan approach in Senate investigations, the senatorial aspirant cited Pharmally as an example.

“If Pharmally reaches out to me because they need to reason out with me as a senator, with due process po, I’d listen in but I won’t be their defender,” she said.

“I’ll listen but I’ll also be assertive, the non-negotiability of transparency and compliance to standard,” she added.

During the hearings, several senators saw alleged favoritism in the awarding of contracts as they doubted the financial capacity of Pharmally since it was only established in 2019 with a small capital of P625,000 when it secured the medical supply deals.

“Napaka-emosyonal po sa amin sa Mindanao itong issue ng health services because I, for one, know that many of us did not go, we’re not able to reach an ICU…the PPEs  (personal protective equipment) did not arrive really ASAP (as soon as possible) from that March lockdown last year,” Gutoc added.

“Pharmally is a testament na ‘pag wrong implementation or [there’s a] lack of transparency or accountability, it denies the real actual victims the service needed for people,” she also said.

The Senate blue ribbon committee is conducting its 14th hearing on Thursday. Panel chairman, Senator Richard Gordon, earlier disclosed the investigation’s partial findings, which included the recommendation of charges against Pharmally executives and former PS-DBM officials.

JPV