Blue Ribbon panel urged to investigate other COA-reported anomalies

A lawmaker has called on the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate other fund utilization anomalies reported by the Commission on Audit (COA) instead of continuing its focus on the Department of Health (DOH)’s use of its COVID-19 fund and procurement of some supplies in 2020.

“The inquiry has dragged on for so long when it should have already been referred to the National Prosecution Service (NPS), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or the Office of the Ombudsman, for these are the proper and official offices in prosecuting criminal offenses,” Deputy Speaker and Sagip Party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta said.

“They should be concentrating their attention and deliberative energy on lawmaking," he added.

The GMA News Online sought comment from Senator Richard Gordon and Senator Franklin Drilon but have not yet replied as of posting time.

Also sought for comment, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Senator Risa Hontiveros also declined to make any.

Marcoleta said members of the committee appeared to be selective as they had yet to investigate other offices whose funds utilizations had also been flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).

He said these included the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

The lawmaker said the inquiry served as an avenue for publicity and for those running in public office in the next year’s polls, saying that “the issue is repeatedly being milked to elicit anything they might find to incriminate Malacañang or to expose corruption in the administration’s pandemic response.”

President Rodrigo Duterte has earlier required Cabinet members to get a clearance from him first before they can attend the Senate investigation into the government's purchase of allegedly overpriced pandemic-related supplies.

Duterte mentioned Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as an example, saying the Health chief was no longer being asked questions as the Senate probe  already branched out to other issues.

The Senate blue ribbon committee is looking into the transfer of P42 billion COVID-19 funds from the Department of Health to the PS-DBM.

This includes PS-DBM’s purchase of P8.6 billion worth of face masks, face shields, and PPEs from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, a firm that is being linked to Yang.

The company only had a P625,000 paid-up capital when it entered transactions with the government. -NB, GMA News