EDITORIAL - How high does it go?

Since the corruption scandal erupted over the sweetheart deal awarded to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., people have wondered how high up accountability would go. As COVID-19 rampaged and the country was placed under lockdown, the newly established Pharmally, with only P650,000 in capital, bagged an P11.5-billion contract to provide pandemic emergency response supplies including face masks, face shields and personal protective equipment.

The procurement was outsourced by the Department of Health to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management. The PS-DBM awarded the contract without bidding to Pharmally, in a deal that was allegedly brokered by Chinese national Michael Yang, who was appointed as economic adviser in 2018 by then president Rodrigo Duterte.

After an exhaustive inquiry, the Senate Blue Ribbon committee under Richard Gordon came out with a final report that the majority refused to sign, reportedly because it recommended the inclusion of Duterte among those who should face criminal indictment. Graft charges filed last year before the Sandiganbayan by the Office of the Ombudsman also excluded Duterte and Yang.

People are still wondering why the indictments, affirmed last month by Ombudsman Samuel Martires, were only for graft instead of plunder, and why former health secretary Francisco Duque III was excluded. The ombudsman did modify its August 2023 resolution to include Pharmally financial manager Lin Weixiong, a Chinese citizen, among those who would face three counts of graft.

Those facing charges are led by Lloyd Christopher Lao, former executive director of the PS-DBM; former PS-DBM procurement group director Warren Lex Liong, who was appointed by Duterte as overall deputy ombudsman; former PS-DBM procurement management officer Paul Jasper de Guzman; director IV Christine Marie Suntay; OIC procurement division chief Webster Laureñana and employees August Ylagan and Jasonmer Uayan.

Pharmally executives Twinkle and Mohit Dargani, Linconn Ong, Justine Garado and Huang Tzu Yen along with employee Krizle Grace Magno were also indicted before the Sandiganbayan.

Facing the House committee on appropriations this week, Duque said the DOH had sought the position of Duterte on coursing the emergency supply procurement through the PS-DBM. “Duterte indeed gave his approval,” Duque said in a statement last Tuesday. Some P46.7 billion was transferred to the PS-DBM for the procurement without public bidding. That’s a lot of people’s money with little accountability. Either the buck stops with Duque, or with his principal at the time, Rodrigo Duterte.