Ombudsman pulls out 4 of 6 Pharmally cases for reevaluation
MANILA, Philippines — Under new leadership, the Office of the Ombudsman withdrew the cases filed involving the multi-million peso Pharmally scandal, citing the need for more details.
Newly appointed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said he ordered the pullout of six out of the eight cases filed before the Sandiganbayan.
"Yung wala pang arraignment 'yun ang pinigilan natin, para mapag-aralan at makamada ng todo," Remulla said in a press briefing. (We placed a hold on cases that have not yet had an arraignment to allow us to fully review and prepare the charges.)
Remulla questioned the integrity of the investigative process after consulting the Office of the Special Prosecutor, who informed him that they were not involved in drafting or proofreading the complaint.
He said there is a need for consistency, arguing that the work should stem from "one body of work" where the findings are mutually consistent.
"Tingin ko kasi, dapat diyan isang body of work dapat diyan. Para consistent with each other. Hindi 'yan pwedeng isang fact-finding team, at pangalawang fact-finding team magkaiba yung resulta. One office contradicts another," he said. (I think that it should be one body of work, consistent with each other. It cannot be one fact-finding team and the second fact-finding team with different results. One office contradicts another.)
"The Ombudsman must move as one," he added.
Two of the cases, however, are already post-arraignment and are not to be withdrawn.
When asked how long will the Ombudsman review the cases, Remulla said: "It won't be long."
"Kasi nag-[preliminary investigation] naman niyan eh. Kailangan lang na ang resolusyon ay pag-aralan ng husto base sa lahat na nakalap na ebidensya sa pagdinig non, at sa lahat ng ebidensya na naroon o naririto sa tanggapan ng Ombudsman," he said. (We just need the resolution to be studied based on all the collected evidence, based on the investigation and all the evidence that can be found in the case of the Ombudsman.)
Last year, the Office of the Ombudsman, led by former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, filed graft complaints against officials including former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and former Undersecretary Christopher Lao.
The complaints allege they illegally moved more than P41 billion from the DOH to the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Upon his oathtaking, the new Ombudsman vowed to revisit and review the Pharmally controversy, which former senator Richard Gordon, who chaired the Senate committee that investigated it, believes former president Rodrigo Duterte had a hand in.
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