Senate Blue Ribbon opens Pharmally pandemic-procurement inquiry

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired at the time by Senator Richard J. Gordon, opened public hearings on September 10, 2021 into the awarding of multi-billion-peso pandemic procurement contracts by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation. The hearings examined how a company with a paid-up capital of approximately P625,000 had been awarded contracts totalling billions of pesos for personal protective equipment, face shields, and related supplies. Successive sessions focused on the role of presidential adviser Michael Yang, the introduction of Pharmally principals to government procurement officials, and the price differentials between the procured items and prevailing market rates. The inquiries produced multiple Commission on Audit findings flagging irregularities in the procurement process, criminal complaints filed by the Department of Justice, and contempt citations against witnesses who refused to appear or to answer questions. Several Pharmally executives were detained on Senate contempt orders in late 2021. Plunder and graft complaints related to the transactions remain in various stages of preliminary investigation and litigation.