Metro Manila, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has filed a nearly ₱11-billion plunder complaint against 46 people, including officials of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, over alleged irregularities in pandemic supply contracts, the ombudsman said.
Of those in the list, 23 cannot be found, Ombudsman Boying Remulla said Friday, Oct. 16.
“Many of them have become invisible. Para bang they’re trying to evade the jurisdiction of this body,” Remulla said during a press briefing.
[Translation: It is as if they are trying to evade the jurisdiction of this body.]
Remulla said authorities had failed to locate the respondents at their known addresses despite repeated attempts to serve them notices, summonses and subpoenas.
Those at large include Pharmally chairman Huang Tzu Yen, president Twinkle Dargani, corporate secretary and treasurer Mohit Dargani, and director Linconn Uy Ong.
Also on the list were Pharmally regulatory affairs head Krizle Grace Mago, financial manager Lin Wei Xiong, Michael Yang, a former economic adviser to then-President Rodrigo Duterte who has been tagged as a Pharmally financier, and a number of former personnel of the Department of Budget and Management – Procurement Service.
The Ombudsman also reported that notices for three other respondents were still in transit, while three others had been sent notices again after initial service attempts failed.
Four more respondents had no addresses. The ombudsman said its Field Investigation Bureau in Luzon had been ordered on Oct. 1 to provide other known addresses, with compliance due on Oct. 7.
The complaint alleges irregularities in government contracts for face masks, personal protective equipment and testing kits during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the government procured billions of pesos worth of supplies for its emergency response.
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