By Clarist Zablan
(August 24, 2023) – The anti-graft Ombudsman has recommended filing of graft charges against seven former government officials and six business executives over the questionable multi-billion-peso procurement of medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ombudsman said three counts of graft will be filed against overall Ombudsman Warren Rex Liong, former budget officials Lloyd Christopher Lao and Paul Jasper de Guzman, and Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation executives Twinkle Dargani, Mohit Dargani, Linconn Ong, Justine Garado, and Huang Tzu Yen.
In an 87-page resolution, the panel also recommended filing one count of graft each against budget officials Christine Marie Suntay, Webster Laureñana, August Ylagan and Jasonmer Uayan and Pharmally executive Krizle Grace Mago.
The Ombudsman also ordered the dismissal of the officials from service.
The charges against other respondents, like Michael Yang, who financed the deals, were dismissed for “insufficiency of evidence.”
Matatandaang nauna nang pinatawan ng Office of the Ombudsman ng anim na buwang suspensyon sa serbisyo ang ilang opisyal dahil sa kaparehong isyu kabilang si dating PS-DBM undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao. #News5 | via Elaine Fulgencio, https://t.co/PAaObYcfwy pic.twitter.com/CP71Te9lb7
— News5 (@News5PH) August 24, 2023
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Senator Risa Hontiveros and former Senate Blue Ribbon panel chairman Richard Gordon, who for two years led the Upper House inquiry into the health department’s questionable purchase of medical supplies through the budget department’s procurement services (PS-DBM).
The inquiry unearthed that PS-DBM had awarded P10.85 billion worth of supply contracts to Pharmally, despite the company declaring a paid-up capital of only P625,000.
Hontiveros said the filing of graft charges was a “welcome and much-awaited development” that served as an “important step” towards holding officials responsible for the alleged misuse of funds at the height of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Hindi maibabaon sa limot ang kasalanan ng mga opisyal at negosyante na piniling magpayaman gamit ang pondong nakalaan sana para tulungan ang mga kababayan nating pinadapa ng COVID-19 pandemic at ng mga lockdown,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, the counsel for the Pharmally executives, said he was “surprised” and “greatly saddened” by the charges and they will “exhaust all remedies” to assail the Ombudsman’s resolution.
He maintained that the allegations against Pharmally were false and the charges merely stemmed from a “political vendetta.”
“We have faith that, shown the ultimate facts and the proof therefor, we shall attain justice in the courts. These said persons charged of these baseless offenses are assuaged by the balm of a clean conscience, and are confident of vindication,” Topacio said in a separate statement.
(MM)
Our Privacy Commitment
TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.
We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.
Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?
We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:
Where do we get your personal information?
There are several ways we collect your personal information.
Information that you personally provided.
Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
Information we collect during your engagement with us
We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
Information we collect from other sources
Other means of collection of information may be through:
When do we disclose personal information?
There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.
We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.
In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.
How we protect your personal information
The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.
We also put in effect the following safeguards:
TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.
What are your choices?
We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.
If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.
Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph
What happens when there are changes in our Policy?
From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.
You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.