Senator Richard Gordon (left) and Rose Nono Lin (right) during a hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Senate screengrab
MANILA, Philippines — “Natagpuan ko po ‘yan sa garahe po namin (I just found it in our garage ).”
So said a stockholder being linked to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. when asked about one of the luxury cars registered to her name during a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing Thursday.
“Yung P8.8 million na Lexus. Natagpuan mo na lang ba sa garahe ‘yan o? O ikaw ba yung bumili niyan?” Senator Richard Gordon asked Rose Nono Lin, stockholder of Pharmally Biological Inc.
(The P8.8 million Lexus. Did you just suddenly find it in your garage? Or did you buy that?)
“Nakalagay sa pangalan mo yan e (That’s registered to your name),” he added.
In response, Lin said she has no penchant for luxury cars and that her husband is the one who purchased them.
“Natagpuan ko po ‘yan sa garahe po namin dahil hindi po ako mahilig sa sasakyan. Okay na po sa akin basta po tumatakbo at may masakyan po ako papunta po sa opisina,” she added.
(I just found it in our garage because I don’t really have a penchant for cars. I’m content with any car that can run and can ferry me to my office.)
“Ang asawa ko po yung bumibili po, kasi siya po yung mahilig sa mga sasakyan,” Lin said.
(It’s my husband who bought that car. Cars are his passion.)
Aside from a 2019 Lexus LX450D, Gordon, citing Land Transportation Office (LTO) records, said a 2018 Cadillac Escalade ESV—priced at P8.9 million—was also registered to Lin.
According to Gordon, a 2020 Land Rover Range Rover SC worth P11.9 million was also registered to Lin.
“Land Cruiser po ang ginagamit ko Mr. Chair,” Lin said when asked what car she currently uses.
“Lahat po ng sasakyan po namin ay nabili po namin before the pandemic pa po (All of our cars were bought before the pandemic),” she added.
Lin and her husband, Lin Wei Xiong, were already summoned to attend the Senate blue ribbon panel inquiry over their alleged link with Pharmally Pharmaceutical, which senators are scrutinizing for allegedly being favored in awarding pandemic supply contracts in 2020.
During a hearing last Sept. 17, Lin denied that she is involved in the operations of Pharmally Pharmaceutical.
She also added that Pharmally Biological Inc. is not a sister company of Pharmally Pharmaceutical.
Pharmally Pharmaceutical was awarded over P8.6 billion worth of supply contracts in 2020.
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.
READ: Senate tries to serve subpoena to Pharmally exec, but address was wrong
Pharmally chairman and president Huang Tzu Yen has previously denied that they were favored in any way in the government’s procurement of medical supplies, saying the small company has been “unfairly prejudged.”
READ: Pharmally exec: All our business dealings are aboveboard