Pharmally execs Ong, Dargani ask Sotto to act on ‘unjust’ detention

Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. officials Mohit Dargani and Linconn Ong appealed to Senate President Vicente Sotto III to act on their "unjust" detention in Pasay City jail, saying they are no cases field against them.

In a letter sent to Sotto and verified by Ong's legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, the Pharmally executives asserted that they were put behind bars even without legal charges filed against them.

"We have been suffering in Pasay City Jail alongside convicted criminals for close to a year dahil lamang sa kagustuhan ni (because of the order of) Senator Richard '"Dick" Gordon. Wala po kaming kaso (There are no cases filed against us)," Ong and Dargani wrote.

"Bakit niyo po hinahayaang mangyari? Ninakaw ni Sen. Gordon ang aming buhay. Binabali ang katotohanan tungkol sa Pharmally. Pinipilit na sabihin namin ang hindi tama. Para sa anong dahilan?" they asked.

(Why do you allow this to happen? Sen. Gordon robbed our lives. He is twisting the truth about Pharmally. He wanted us to say what is not right. What is his reason?)

Ong and Dargani both alleged that Gordon used them for "his own political ambitions," adding that their lives and reputation were "robbed" by the senator.

"He used us for his own political ambitions. Di na niya maibabalik ang buhay at reputasyon namin na inagaw niya sa amin. Sana po ay mabigyan hustisya ang nangyari sa amin at makalaya na kami sa unjust na pagkakakulong sa amin," they said.

(He used us for his own political ambitions. He cannot give our lives and reputations back. We hope that justice will be served and we hope that we will be released from this unjust detention.)

"We request your fair judgment, Hon. Senate President Vicente Sotto III," they wrote.

Last year, Gordon led the Senate blue ribbon committee's inquiry into the transfer of P42 billion COVID-19 funds from the Department of Health to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).

This includes PS-DBM’s purchase of P8.6 billion worth of face masks, face shields, and PPEs from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, a firm that only had a P625,000 paid-up capital when it entered transactions with the government.

In November, Ong and Dargani were turned over to Pasay City Jail after they refused to disclose the documents on the company's financial statements.

Earlier, Dargani and Ong asked the Senate blue ribbon committee to grant their request for house arrest.

Their relatives also asked for help from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) over their continued detention at the Pasay City Jail and their treatment by Senate officers while detained.

Dargani's petition questioning his continued detention over the alleged anomalies in the government's COVID-19 expenditures is already pending before the Court of Appeals.

The Senate blue ribbon committee chairman's report previously recommended the filing of criminal charges against Ong, Dargani and several government officials and individuals in connection with the alleged anomalous purchases of COVID-19 supplies.

GMA News Online has sought the comments of Gordon and Sotto on the letter but they have yet to respond as of posting time.—LDF, GMA News