We’re a ‘bit surprised’ Pharmally report included Duterte, says Imee

Sen. Imee Marcos. Senate PRIB file photo / Bibo Nueva España

MANILA, Philippines— Senator Imee Marcos admitted on Wednesday that they were a “bit surprised” that President Rodrigo Duterte was included in a Pharmally report prepared by the Senate blue ribbon committee.

A draft report by Senator Richard Gordon’s panel found Duterte accountable for the alleged anomalous deal between the government and Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.

Marcos, who actively participated in the Senate probe, said she would not sign the report as “it went above and beyond the evidence.”

“We were completely shocked by the COA (Commission on Audit Report) report. It came out in the COA report that P67 billion had gone missing and that’s the reason we had to investigate it,” she said over ANC’s “Headstart.”

“However in the committee report, I think it went above and beyond the evidence and we were  a little bit surprised, if I have to say it politely, that it included  the President and encompassed breached of trust and other allegations that had not really been discussed or had been shown  by the evidence presented so,” Marcos went on.

According to the draft report, Duterte “betrayed” public trust when he threatened senators investigating the Pharmally deal, for his supposed “non-action on this gargantuan scam, and in a time of grave danger, his cover-up efforts, his tyrannical use of presidential powers to prevent officials and employees from participating in the hearings.

Gordon’s panel also recommended the possible filing of appropriate charges against Duterte after his term of office ends on June 30.

Marcos said she would have signed the report if the panel finds the Department of Health accountable.

“Perhaps, perhaps, it’s possible,” she said, “Because at the end of the day sila rin ang nagorder so baka pwede.”

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was already among those recommended by the panel to face graft and plunder charges along with former procurement officials, Pharmally executives and Chinese businessman Michael Yang.

It was Duque who approved the transfer of P42 billion to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) for the purchase of pandemic-related supplies, the report noted.

The draft report was released to the public last February but it has yet to get the signatures of majority of the blue ribbon panel members before it can be brought to the plenary for further action.

/MUF