Senate panel asks AMLC to inspect Pharmally's bank transactions

Published September 10, 2021 09:33 PM By HANA BORDEY, GMA News

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee on Friday requested the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to inspect the bank records of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, as lawmakers questioned how it bagged government contracts worth billions of pesos with a paid up capital of only P650,000.

During the Senate blue ribbon committee’s fifth hearing on the Department of Health’s use of its COVID-19 funds in 2020, Senator Richard Gordon asked Pharmally president and chairman Huang Tzu Yen where they got their capital.

The lawmaker mentioned the stock manipulation charges

reportedly filed against him in Taiwan as well as the contraventions of the Securities and Exchange Act, stock manipulation, fraud in financial statements and illicit transfers cases filed against his father, Huang Wen Lei, the chairman of Phramally International.

“Let me ask you a question. Could that be the source of the money?” Gordon asked.

Huang Tzu Yen denied this. He said his $1.5-million contribution to the company was done through loans.

He added that the company was able to get supplies of medical goods from China as he was able to “subsequently” secure a letter credit from a local bank in the Philippines.

At this point, Gordon said: “With the permission of the Senate, I’d like to ask the [Anti-]Money Laundering Council to inspect all the bank transactions that may have occurred with this company so we will know the money trail.”

“I so direct the director general of the, with the permission of the Senate President, the [AMLC] be asked to find out whether there is a money trail to be proven here because there are so much billions of pesos that occurred here and we don’t even have the money trail, where this money came from. Saan nanggaling ‘yang perang yan at bigla silang nakakapag-transact sa gobyerno na wala silang pinapakitang kapital kundi yung P625,000?” he asked.

(Where did the money come from? Because they suddenly transacted with the government without showing any capital apart from the P625,000.)

At the latter part of the hearing, Pharmally president Huang Tzu Yen admitted that they borrowed money from former presidential adviser Michael Yang.

The Senate Blue Ribbon is currently looking into the purchase of at least P8.6 billion worth of face masks, face shields, and PPEs by the DBM-PS with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation.

Yang denied any relations with Pharmally, but admitted that he had linked them to suppliers.

Pharmally official Linconn Ong, meanwhile, said Yang had “guaranteed” for them when they were sourcing PPE supplies from China.

Irked by their "evasive" answers, the senators also cited in contempt and moved for the arrest of Yang and Ong. -MDM, GMA News

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