Drilon: Draft Pharmally report can be referred to Ombudsman without Senate approval

The draft Senate Blue Ribbon Committee report on the Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation investigation can be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman even if the Senate did not approve it in the 18th Congress, outgoing Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Monday.

In an interview with reporters, Drilon explained that the draft report was still a document that was drafted by a public official and concurred in by several other senators.

He explained that the anti-graft court would look for probable cause by looking into the testimonies and the documents gathered during the investigation and not the draft report itself.

“Let’s put it this way. Even if the report was approved by the majority, the Ombudsman can say ‘I find your report insufficient. The evidence is insufficient. I defer with you in your conclusion.’ There is nothing wrong with that,” he said.

“On the other hand, notwithstanding the fact that there is no official report approved by the Senate, the Ombudsman can say, 'On the basis of the evidence that was presented, I find a probable cause of filing anti-graft or malversation…' The Ombudsman would look at the evidence, not the report,” he added.

Drilon also stressed that it was the prerogative of the outgoing Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Richard Gordon to submit it to the anti-graft court.

“Senator Gordon has enough prerogative to share that with the Ombudsman… he can refer that to the Ombudsman as the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee,” he said.

While the draft report can be transmitted to the anti-graft court, Drilon also said that the Ombudsman can ignore it or do nothing with the documents provided by the Senate panel.

In the 18th Congress, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigated the transfer of P42 billion worth of COVID-19 funds from the Department of Health to the Department of Budget and Management Procurement Service (DBM-PS).

The probe focused mainly on PS-DBM’s purchase of P8.6 billion worth of face masks, face shields, and PPEs from Pharmally, a firm that only had P625,000 in paid-up capital when it entered into government transactions.

In February, Gordon released a partial report recommending criminal charges against Pharmally officials Linconn Ong and Mohit Dargani, and several government officials and individuals in connection with the alleged anomalous purchases of COVID-19 supplies.

The report also claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte betrayed the public trust in connection with his actions related to the government's multi-billion-peso contracts with Pharmally.

However, it was not discussed in the plenary as some members of the committee would not sign the report. — DVM, GMA News