Philippines a 'ruined nation' if gov't sees no wrong in 'overpriced' PPE purchase —Lacson

The Philippines is a ruined nation if its government fails to see the irregularity in the allegedly  "overpriced" personal protective equipment (PPEs), Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.

Lacson issued the statement a day after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque denied that the Duterte administration bought overpriced PPEs, claiming the Aquino Administration bought PPEs at a much higher price.

“Price matters. This applies to all items procured by the government, using the money of Filipino taxpayers, regardless of administration,” Lacson said.

He pointed out that price matters even more if there is “gross overpricing” of medical goods involving billions of pesos in public funds while Filipinos face unemployment due to the pandemic.

“If we cannot see what is wrong with that — or worse, try to divert public attention from the issue — then certainly we are a ruined nation,” Lacson said.

The Senate blue ribbon committee is probing the Department of Health’s transfer of P42 billion funds to the Procurement Service, an attached agency of the Department of Budget and Management, for the procurement of face masks and face shields at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The DBM-PS and its former chief, resigned Budget Undersecretary Christopher Lloyd Lao, are currently in hot water due to purchase of PPEs that was also flagged by the Commission on Audit.

The senators gave special attention to the transactions entered into by the PS-DBM with Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a small firm that only had a paid-up capital of around P625,000 but secured over P8 billion worth of government contracts for the procurement of PPEs.

The lawmakers were also seeking information on the possible links of Chinese businessman Michael Yang, President Rodrigo Duterte’s former economic adviser, to Pharmally. —Hana Bordey/KBK, GMA News