Sandiganbayan allows withdrawal of Pharmally graft cases

The Sandiganbayan has granted the request of the Office of the Ombudsman to withdraw six graft cases filed against former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao and several officers of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. over the allegedly anomalous procurement of more than P8 billion in COVID-19 supplies at the height of the pandemic.

In a resolution dated November 7, the court affirmed the Ombudsman’s authority to revisit and reverse earlier decisions, saying it acted within its powers in moving to pull out the cases.

“Settled is the rule that a sitting Ombudsman has the power to revoke or alter the rulings of a predecessor within the bounds of law,” the court said. The motion was filed by newly appointed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, effectively reversing actions under former Ombudsman Samuel Martires.

The charges stemmed from the government’s multibillion-peso procurement of PPE, surgical masks, face shields, and later RT-PCR test kits from Pharmally in 2020.

The little-known firm, which had only P625,000 in paid-up capital, secured more than P8 billion in contracts from the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), then headed by Lao.

A Senate inquiry later flagged the transactions as anomalous, citing alleged overpricing and claims that Pharmally received preferential treatment, purportedly through former presidential adviser Michael Yang.

Upon assuming office, Remulla sought to withdraw the cases to allow a reassessment and reinvestigation of the evidence.

While noting that the Ombudsman generally has full discretion in determining probable cause, the Sandiganbayan emphasized that control over a case transfers to the court once it is filed.

Still, it found merit in the withdrawal, saying it was not based on lack of probable cause but on the need to review the charges to ensure only well-founded cases go to trial.

“This Court sees no inconsistency between its previous finding of probable cause for the purpose of issuing warrants of arrest and in allowing the withdrawal of the Informations,” it said.

It added that prosecutors cannot be faulted for withdrawing a case if convinced the evidence will not sustain conviction.

The court also rejected arguments raised by the accused that the withdrawal would cause inordinate delay and violate their right to the speedy disposition of cases, calling these concerns speculative and unsupported by evidence.

It noted that any alleged delay was hypothetical, as no reinvestigation had yet begun.

“After careful consideration of the facts, allegations, and records of these cases, this Court deems it appropriate to grant the withdrawal of the Informations despite the previous finding of probable cause and the earlier issuance of the warrants of arrest,” the court ruled.

Aside from Lao, the individuals named in the withdrawn graft charges are:

• Warren Rex Hernandez Liong - former procurement group director at PS-DBM
• Paul Jasper Villanueva De Guzman - Procurement management officer at PS-DBM
• Twinkle Dargani - Pharmally president
• Mohit Dargani - Pharmally corporate secretary and treasurer
• Huang Tzu Yen - Pharmally chairman
• Linconn Uy Ong - Pharmally director
• Justine Garado - Pharmally director
• Lin Wei Xiong - Pharmally financial manager
• Krizle Grace Ukkong Mago - Pharmally executive
• Augusto Menchavez Ylagan - former PS-DBM employee
• Webster Marmol Laureñana - acting division chief of procurement at PS-DBM
• Christine Marie Lecaros Suntay - director in PS-DBM’s administrative and finance group

—MCG, GMA Integrated News