Pharmally staff no show in Senate probe

PHARMALLY Pharmaceutical Corporation administrative assistant Krizle Grace Mago did not show up at the resumption Thursday, September 30, 2021, of the Senate blue ribbon committee investigation into the use of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic response funds of the Department of Health (DOH).

Rodolfo Noel Quimbo, director general of the committee, said they did not hear anything from Mago as the resource persons in the probe are required to send them an email when confirming presence on the hearing.

Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Richard Gordon asked Pharmally treasurer Mohit Dargani but he also said he is also not aware where Mago is.

Dargani said the last time he spoke with Mago was on Saturday morning, September 25, the day after the ninth Senate hearing on the matter where the former admitted into tampering the product certificate of the face shield delivered to the DOH by Pharmally.

Mago said she got the order from Dargani to change the product certificate in order to make it appear that it was recently manufactured when in fact it was produced in 2020.

When asked if she thinks Pharmally “swindled” the government, Mago answered “I think that is the case.”

Gordon then ordered Quimbo to trace the whereabouts of Mago who she said was a “material witness” amid the investigation.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said Mago’s absence was “very concerning,” pressing the importance of placing her under a protective custody of the senate considering the revelation she made.

During Friday’s hearing, the panel offered Mago of protective custody but she asked for more time to think about it.

Pharmally is in bad light for allegedly supplying the government ‘overpriced’ face masks, face shields, personal protective equipment (PPE) and Covid-19 testing kits.

The firm bagged P8.68 billion worth of contracts from the Procurement Service (PS) Department of Budget and Management (DBM) which was tapped by the DOH for the procurement of medical supplies on their behalf during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Lawmakers expressed belief that Pharmally was favored by PS due to its links with former presidential adviser for economic affairs Michael Yang. (SunStar Philippines)

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