Remulla to review Pharmally case as Ombudsman
MANILA, Philippines — Newly-appointed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said he will review the Pharmally scandal case, which involves graft over overpriced COVID-19 supplies, acknowledging it seemed to have been "forgotten."
"Sisilipin natin 'yan, kasi nga parang nalimutan na eh, naibaon sa limot, pero hindi dapat makalimutan talaga itong mga ganitong kaso," Remulla said.
(We will look into that, because it seems it has been forgotten, buried in oblivion, but cases like this should truly not be forgotten.)
"Kasi alam natin mabigat ang alingaw-ngaw at maraming nagsasabi na may nangyari ngang masama doon. May naging pagdinig sa Senado ngunit hindi na umandar," he added.
(Because we know the buzz is heavy, and many are saying that something truly bad happened there. There was a Senate hearing, but it didn't move forward.)
In an interview with OneNews, former Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson Richard Gordon said that the new Ombudsman will look into the Pharmally scandal.
Gordon, in the same interview, also said that detained former president Rodrigo Duterte was "part and parcel" of the conspiracy to "fleece the country" of at least "P11 billion to P47 billion" in the Pharmally fiasco.
"Very-very clear ang kasalanan ng presidente, inamin pa niya mismo," Gordon said in an interview with OneNews' "Storycon" on October 8.
(The fault of the president is very clear; he admitted it himself.)
As the Ombudsman, Remulla will now be in charge of the investigation and prosecution of government officials in their cases, which include cases of graft and corruption.
During the height of the scandal, the Office of the Ombudsman, which was then under the leadership of former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, filed graft cases against several individuals involved in the scandal last year.
Officials slapped with complaints include former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and former Undersecretary Christopher Lao. They are accused of illegally transferring over P41 billion from the Department of Health (DOH) to the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) in 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
Latest developments on the case. On October 2, three former DBM officials involved in the case pleaded not guilty before the Sandiganbayan.
The officials are:
- Allan Raul Catalan
- Dickson Panti
- Gerelyn Francisco Vergara
The other co-accused in the case, namely Warren Liong from PS-DBM and Pharmally officials Mohit Dargani and Linconn Ong, did not enter a plea because the anti-graft court has yet to rule on their appeal to quash the graft charge against them.
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