‘National calamity state may create another Pharmally’

MANILA, Philippines — Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno has warned of a “repeat” of the multibillion-peso Pharmally scandal during the time of former president Rodrigo Duterte, in case the year-long state of calamity issued by President Marcos is abused.

Diokno advised the public to be vigilant about Proclamation 1077, warning that transparency in government transactions could be disregarded again, all in the guise of emergency procurement, just like during the COVID pandemic.

The lawmaker flagged the provision allowing emergency negotiated procurement for one year, saying it could “open the floodgates to corruption if not paired with strict transparency and accountability safeguards.”

“The declaration of emergency powers is not a blank check,” Diokno insisted. “Such authority must always come with transparency, accountability and clear limits to ensure it truly serves the people.”

Marcos recently issued Proclamation 1077, declaring a one-year state of national calamity in response to the destruction caused by Typhoon Tino. The proclamation also covers any natural disasters or calamities that may occur from November 2025 to November 2026.

Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. – whose owners turned out to be very close allies of Duterte – supplied overpriced medical supplies to the Philippine government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diokno outlined several recommendations to ensure proper oversight and prevent abuse of emergency powers, including clearly defining the geographic scope and conditions for maintaining or lifting the state of emergency.

Meanwhile, fellow opposition lawmaker and ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima slammed “the biggest corruption scandal in the history of our country,” as she urged for the swift passage of the twin bills that will arm the current Independent Commission for Infrastructure with more powers to go after persons responsible for the flood control mess.

“Corruption kills… it kills through neglect, incompetence and greed. While people are wading through murky floodwaters, corruption continues to flow freely through our bureaucracy,” she said.

Likewise, Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Louise Co defended flood victims following an “elitist” social media comment by Pangasinan 5th district Rep. Mark Cojuangco, who questioned why people built houses on floodplains, calling it “takaw-sakuna” (accident-prone).

“We laud the resilience of our fellow Filipino when they endured disasters, but the ordinary citizens are immediately blamed once they complained. Let us not ride in this elitist view. This is unscientific and anti-progress,” she said in a privilege speech during yesterday’s session.

“Those who are prone to accident are those greedy on the people’s wealth, businesses that earn profit from environmental disaster and their cohorts in government who are also earning from it. This is green plunder. There is plunder in government and there is plunder in environment and they are using the money that they stole from the government’s coffers in projects where they exploited our land, our country. The people are at the losing end in this system,” Co said.– Jose Rodel Clapano