BJMP: No special treatment for Pharmally execs transfer to Pasay City Jail
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology said there will be no special treatment for Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. executives Linconn Ong and Mohit Dargani in their transfer to the Pasay City Jail.
BJMP spokesperson Xavier Solda on Monday said Monday that “[t]he Pasay City Jail is prepared for the transfer of Pharmally executives to its facility.”
But Solda stressed that there will be no “special treatment” or “preferential attention” to be given to Ong and Dargani.
The bureau spokesperson added that the two Pharmally executives will be moved to a 1000% congested facility that houses 1,104 Persons Deprived of Liberty that only has a separate isolation area for newly committed PDLs for observation of health protocols.
“After the mandatory quarantine period of 10-14 days, the subject individuals will be assigned to a cell in the general population,” he added.
The two Pharmally directors have been detained at the Senate after senators cited them in contempt for their answers in the ongoing Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing into pandemic spending and alleged anomalous government contracts for medical supplies.
At the resumption of inquiry on November 26, senators asked Mohit and Ong to provide missing source documents of Pharmally’s financial statements that were submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Securities and Exchange Commission.
But after five hours of questioning, the two executives were still unsure of the location of the documents, prompting the committee to move that they be transferred to Pasay City Jail.
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III signed the commitment order to Pasay City Jail warden Supt. Ramil Vestra on Saturday for the detention of Ong and Dargani. — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from ONE News
Follow this page for development on the government's allegedly overpriced pandemic response deals.
Photo credit: Screen grab from Senate of the Philippines YouTube page
The House committee on good government and public accountability recommends the filing of syndicated estafa against directors and officers of Pharmally, Rep. Michael Aglipay (DIWA Party-list) says.
The House panel recommends filing the charges against Huang Tzu Yen, Mohit Dargani, Twinkle Dargani, Lincoln Ong, Justine Garado and Krizle Mago before the Department of Justice.
The committee also recommends the filing of falsification of public documents against Jorge Mendoza II and Mervin Ian Tanquintic of the PS-DBM Inspection Division before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Pasay City jail is prepared for the transfer of Pharmally executives to its facility, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology says.
BJMP spokesperson says the prison does not have a separate facility except for the isolation area intended for newly committed persons deprived of liberty as part of health protocols.
"Walang special treatment. Walang preferential attention para sa kanila," BJMP spokesperson Xavier Solda says.
Ahead of today's hearing, Health Secretary Francisco Duque tells the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that no officials from the DOH will able to attend.
Duque says this is because the memorandum barring them from attending hearing connected to the investigation is still in effect.
The DOH chief adds that President Rodrigo Duterte directed them to "give way to equally important COVID-19 response activities." — report from Bella Perez-Rubio
LOOK: Ahead of today's hearing, Health Secretary Duque told the panel that no officials from his department will be able to attend.
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) October 19, 2021
He says this is because the memorandum barring them from attending hearings connected to the probe is still in effect. | via @BellaPerezRubio pic.twitter.com/6nEykxvEoB
In a House hearing, Pharmally's Krizle Mago claims that her previous statement that the firm switched out the expiry dates of face shields sold to government was a "pressured response."
Senate President Tito Sotto, however, says they will leave it to the Ombudsman to assess later on.
"A statement made under oath incriminating oneself has more weight than a recantation," Sotto says. — Bella Perez-Rubio
House blue ribbon panel chair Mike Aglipay says that Pharmally executive Krizle Grace Mago has just been placed under protective custody of the chamber’s sgt-at-arms.
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