Senate panel orders transfer of Pharmally’s Ong, Mohit Dargani to Pasay City jail

The Senate blue ribbon committee on Friday ordered the transfer of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation’s director Linconn Ong and corporate secretary and treasurer Mohit Dargani from the Senate premises to Pasay City Jail.

This came after the officials failed to provide the committee the whereabouts of the boxes containing the documents related to the firm’s financial statements.

Before the panel suspended the Senate probe into the COVID-19 supplies procurement, the senators asked the Pharmally officials to provide the location of the boxes of the documents.

However, Dargani and Ong said they are not aware where the documents are stored at the moment.

Dargani asked Senate blue ribbon chairman Richard Gordon if he could talk and discuss this with Ong as well as their lawyers and accountants, as he was concerned about their firm’s compliance with the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s ongoing audit on Pharmally’s financial statements.

But Senator Francis Pangilinan pointed out that allowing Dargani and Ong to discuss about the boxes of documents was nonsense after claiming they don't know where they are.

“They are claiming they have no information as to where the documents are, so there’s nothing to discuss so this request to confer with accountant and lawyers is really an attempt to delay, and mislead and to fool this committee,” Pangilinan said.

At this point, Gordon ordered their transfer to Pasay City Jail.

“Because of their trickery…and fraud, I want to order upon your motion that these people would be brought to the right facility, these two people will be brought to the Pasay City Jail,” Gordon said.

“You wanna play hardball, we play hardball…They are not cooperating. Again, they think that they can talk their way out of this by lying their way through this. We will bring them over to the Pasay City Jail,” he added.

Twinkle Dargani, who was also detained along with his brother, will stay in the  Senate premises as senators considered her mental health.

Her doctors will be allowed to visit her and check her wellbeing.

After the motion was approved, Mohit tried to appeal to Gordon if he could physically look for the boxes of documents and if he could convene with Ong in a private setting.

Gordon allowed his request to talk with Ong, but warned Dargani that if the boxes were not brought to the Senate, there is a standing order for them to be transferred to the Pasay City Jail.

“Make no mistake about it. If you don’t get the boxes immediately there is a standing order that you be transferred and I’ve done this before to Pasay City Jail. I’ve been trying to be kind to you…but the Senate will not be held hostage by your antics of evading the information that is necessary,” he said.

“Tomorrow, I make a security escort to take you to wherever he feels the boxes are there. I don’t believe he doesn’t know it. He is not stupid. He pretends to be stupid,” Gordon added.

Gordon also ordered the issuance of a subpoena against Allan Lim, who was said to be the same person as Lin Wei Xion, the husband of Rose Nono Lin, an executive of Pharmally Biological Inc.

Pharmally Biological Inc. is a firm that is being linked to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation.

During the previous hearing, Gordon showed photos of Allan Lim, who was allegedly involved in drug trade, with former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang.

Senators have been investigating the purchase of COVID-19 supplies made by the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service last year, during which Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation bagged more than P8 billion in government contracts for the said procurement of personal protective equipment (PPEs), which were alleged to be overpriced.—LDF, GMA News