PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday, November 9, 2021, that officials of the embattled Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation should be sent to prison over their unpaid taxes.
“Iyang mga Pharmally diyan na hindi nagbayad, dapat talaga pabayarin 'yan. Iyong hindi nagbayad ng taxes. For all tayo na ano, for all we care, those persons there na hindi nagbayad na tax evasion, they can all go to prison. Problema nila 'yan,” he said during his Talk to the People Address.
(Pharmally officials who did not pay their taxes should pay. For all we care, those who evaded taxes should all go to prison. That's their problem.)
Duterte made the statement as he again defended his decision not to let his Cabinet members, particularly Health Secretary Francisco Duque and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., attend the Senate investigation on alleged irregularities in the use of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic fund of the Department of Health (DOH) that was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).
He also reiterated that he does not have any interest with nor is he defending Pharmally.
“Wala... Sabi ko noon, right at the beginning, bahala kayo kung anong gawin niyo diyan sa Pharmally na 'yan. Pero for all of us who are concerned with the supplies, it was delivered on time, inspected, then paid upon delivery. Nag-flag ng -- nag-flag ang COA, so there was an investigation. Tapos sabi nila everything is okay, legal. So hanggang doon lang tayo,” said Duterte.
(Nothing... I said before, right at the beginning, do what you have to do with Pharmally. But for all of us who are concerned with supplies, it was delivered on time, inspected, then paid upon delivery. The COA flagged them, so there was an investigation. So they said everything is okay, legal. So we end there.)
"Wala tayong pakialam sa iba. Iyong sabi nilang Pharmally hindi bumabayad, ay ikulong ninyo ‘yan. Gusto niyo patayin pa ninyo. Wala, wala kaming pakialam. ‘Pag hindi nagbayad ng taxes, kriminal ‘yan," he added.
(We don't care about what others say. When they said Pharmally didn't pay, imprison them. If you want, you can kill them. We don't care. If they don't pay taxes, they are criminals.)
On October 28, Senator Franklin Drilon, during the panel’s hearing, bared the irregularities in the income tax returns (ITR) of Pharmally officials, such as its director Linconn Ong, president Twinkle Dargani and her brother, the firm’s treasurer Mohit.
Drilon said based on the records they obtained from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the ITRs of these people were either unfiled, unreadable or incomplete.
He said the taxes the three paid since 2019 appear to be “very low” considering that they were able to buy luxury vehicles.
Mohit purchased a Porsche 911 Turbo S worth P8.5 million in May 2021 while he gave his sister, Twinkle, a Lamborghini Urus worth P13 million in December 2020.
Ong was able to buy a Porsche Carera 4s worth P13.5 million in February 2021 and a Porsche Cayene VR6 worth around P6.35 million to P8.5 million in May 2021.
He also owns a Lexus RCF worth P5.9 million, which was registered in 2019.
It was also revealed during the resumption of the probe on November 4 that Pharmally has P3.4 billion worth of unsupported purchases which was declared in the annual financial statement (AFS) submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in 2020.
Earlier, Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Senator Richard Gordon, who leads the investigation, said they will recommend the filing of charges against Pharmally for the violation of the anti-graft law, estafa, fraud, perjury, falsification of public documents and the Bayanihan law. (SunStar Philippines)