Pharmallygate

"The list of officials linked to corrupt deals has only grown longer."

Rodrigo Duterte has time and again pledged that he would not tolerate even a whiff of corruption under his administration, that he would dismiss from public office those involved in shenanigans, and that he would see to it that they spend time behind bars.

We rejoiced when two of his fraternity brothers in San Beda Law School whom he had appointed as key officials in the Immigration Bureau were promptly suspended and haled into court for receiving bribes. They were later found guilty and sentenced to jail terms—but are they really in prison?

Alas, that appears to be the first—and last—case of prominent public officials getting their comeuppance for wrongdoing.

While the list of public officials linked to corrupt deals has grown longer since 2016, the number of those who have actually been slapped with court cases for gross violation of the anti-graft law and awaiting trial appears to be dwindling.

The unresolved corruption cases under the Duterte administration include the P6.4-billion smuggling of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu through the Bureau of Customs in 2017, and again in 2018 when P11 billion worth of the same contraband was released by the agency under mysterious circumstances. There’s also the “freedom for sale” scandal at the Bureau of Corrections; the unexplained disappearance of P15 billion in Philhealth funds; and the P40 billion “pastillas” human trafficking scheme, again at the Bureau of Immigration.

Now, the Senate is investigating what Minority Leader Franklin Drilon describes as “‘premeditated plunder” of Department of Health (DOH ) funds with Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao accused of using public funds for grossly overpriced supplies—face masks, face shields and personal protective equipment—for pandemic response.

According to the lawmaker, Lao could face plunder charges as he was directly responsible for the DOH supply deals coursed through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), which was then headed by Lao.

The DOH apparently contracted Pharmally and another firm, Business Beyond Limits OPC, for the purchase of 2,005,860 face shields on June 11 this year, after the joint venture won the bidding with a price of P37.9 million, or P18.88 apiece. This was on top of about P8.7 billion worth of contracts for allegedly overpriced face masks, personal protective equipment sets and COVID-19 test kits awarded to Pharmally in mid-2020 by Lao as PS-DBM head. At the time the 2020 contracts were signed, Pharmally was just a few months old since its September 2019 incorporation with a paid-up capital of only P625,000, according to Drilon, adding that Pharmally went from zero income to nearly P300 million in just one year after bagging the contracts. This was a clear indication that it raked in profits, he said.

But will this hearing lead to the filing of formal charges against Duque and Lao? And will they even see the inside of the New Bilibid Prison if found guilty? We really don’t know. After all, no one in the five plunder cases in recent years has even been filed against the respondents, let alone summoned by state prosecutors to explain their side. But could Pharmallygate end up as the last straw that could break the camel’s back?

PDP infighting takes another turn

It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.

We’re talking about the ongoing rift within the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) that last Sunday led to the election of Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III as its new party chairman, replacing President Rodrigo Duterte.

Former Eastern Samar Governor Lutgardo Barbo replaced Alfonso Cusi as the party’s vice chairman.

Per PDP Executive Director Ron Munsayac, the “original” PDP-Laban convened its national council Sunday afternoon “attended by our national and regional officers and national committee chairmen led by Party President and our ‘Pambansang Kamao’ Sen. Manny Pacquiao, who is currently airborne on his way home here.”

The replacement of Duterte as PDP chairman by Koko Pimentel is definitely a bold move by party leaders. We have yet to hear Duterte himself respond to this latest development.

We consider it a bold move—and a correct one—because we suspect Duterte was not even a member of PDP when he was appointed as Party Chairman in 2016.

In fact, Duterte’s pronounced drift toward strongman rule as soon as he assumed office in 2016 ran counter to the PDP’s commitment to oppose any return to tyranny under the Marcos regime.

Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. founded PDP-Laban in February 1982 after suffering political persecution and several stints in prison for opposing Marcos.

The PDP teamed up with the Laban ng Bayan (Laban) founded by opposition leader Ninoy Aquino Jr. to challenge the ruling party Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) in the 1978 elections.

In short, Duterte as PDP Chairman was a square peg in a round hole, as proven by subsequent events. Since Day One in the Palace, he has repeatedly stomped on the 1987 Constitution with heavy jackboots, sending critics to jail and pursuing a bloody war on drugs with little regard for due process and the rule of law. And he is chairman of a political party that calls itself “demokratiko”?

ernhil@yahoo.com