Senate panel issues subpoena vs. Pharmally’s chief accountant

The Senate blue ribbon committee on Thursday issued a subpoena against Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation chief accountant Jeff Mariano.

During the continuation of the Senate probe into the alleged overpriced pandemic supplies, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon asked Pharmally’s outsourced accountant, Iluminada Sebial, if she already obtained the documents that support the firm’s financial statements.

Among the documents asked by Drilon was the deed of donations for the P33 million given by Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, the small firm that bagged over P8 billion worth of contracts for the procurement of medical supplies, to various government institutions in 2020.

In the past hearings, Sebial said she did not receive the deed of donations and Pharmally only showed her the list of beneficiaries of the P33 million.

Sebial told Drilon on Thursday that it was Jeff Mariano who showed her the list.

It was also Mariano who blocked the transfer of documents, she said.

“Kasi ako nag-audit po one time lang po tapos ngayon na naghihingi ako ng mga documents, ayaw na po nila magbigay,” Sebial said.

(I just audited their accounts once and now that I am asking for the documents, they don’t want to give it to me.)

Sebial said Pharmally paid her P4,000 for her one-time audit services.

Pharmally president and company director Twinkle Dargani confirmed that Mariano was their accountant.

Dargani said she had interacted with Mariano on accounting matters but “nothing more.”

Drilon then asked the Senate blue ribbon panel to issue a subpoena against Mariano as well as a subpoena for the documents that will show Pharmally’s transactions.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the committee, ordered Blue Ribbon director-general Atty. Noel Quimbo to issue the subpoenas.

The documents subpoenaed were:

• Deeds of donation on P33 million donations by Pharmally
• Documents to support the sales of P7,485,401,046
• Documents to support the cost of sales of P7,092,274,180
• Documents on the assets in foreign currency, which generated and realized foreign exchange gains of P63,232,031.

“I want to know what is the basis of this and so because we cannot complete this investigation unless we know all of this by just looking at the financial statements and they do not want to reveal to us what is the basis of all these entries here. Senator Lacson said baka naman po masabit kayo sa (you might face sanctions from) Philippine Regulatory Commission,” Drilon said.

Gordon and Senator Panfilo Lacson have warned Sebial of her possible violation of the ethical standards of accountants.

“Ma’am, ayaw naman po namin kayong ipitin pero mukhang tau-tauhan lang kayo d’yan. Tama po ba ang sinabi ko? Ginagawa kayong tau-tauhan lang? E kayo maiipit, mawawala ang lisensya niyo. ‘Di po ako nananakot, I sympathize with you. Obviously, di kayo kilala ng presidente,” Gordon said.

(Ma’am, we don’t want to get you in trouble but it appears that that you are being used there. Am I right? You will get in trouble and you might lose your license. I am not scaring you, I sympathize with you. Obviously, the president doesn’t know you.)

Last week, Drilon had already warned Sebial that she might lose her license over “inexcusable negligence” in examining the firm’s financial statements.—AOL, GMA News