Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday disclosed that an executive of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. had worked as a special assistant to former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang.
Showing a LinkedIn profile, Hontiveros revealed Mohit Dargani, a Pharmally executive, had labeled himself as a “Special Assistant at the Office of the Presidential Economic Adviser.”
Duterte’s former presidential economic adviser has been Michael Yang, whom Pharmally executives pointed to as the one who helped finance or guarantee the purchase of COVID-19 supplies and equipment from their suppliers in China.
This enabled Pharmally executives to secure an P8.6-billion COVID-19 supplies contract with the Department of Budget and Management’s procurement service (DBM-PS).
“Bakit lahat ng mga may-ari ng Pharmally may koneksyon kay Michael Yang (Why do all executives of Pharmally have a connection with Michael Yang)?” Hontiveros asked at the continuation of the Senate blue ribbon committee’s hearing.
She said even Linconn Ong, another Pharmally official, was also seen in a meeting with Duterte with Pharmally officials in 2017.
“At ngayon, napag-alaman natin pati si Dargani nakatrabaho rin niya (And now we learn that Dargani also worked with him). The Pharmally-Michael Yang relationship seems to run deep,” the senator noted.
Dargani, however, quickly denied this, explaining that he did try to apply at Yang’s office at that time, and wrongly assumed that he had been hired for the job.
“I tried to apply there and it was temporarily that I assumed that I was working there. I took that down eventually,” Dargani told senators during the hearing.
Because he was not Chinese, Dargani said he was not able to work in Yang’s office.
“But because I am not Chinese and I don’t really communicate with their bosses, Mr. Yang, Mr. (Linconn) Ong advised me that I cannot work in that said office,” he added.
Ong is Pharmally director, whom Hontiveros noted also worked for Yang.
Dargani was referring to Pharmally director Linconn Ong, who Hontiveros noted also worked for Yang.
“Ngayon, nagsama sama sa Pharmally. Galing talaga pag may network (Now they are all in Pharmally. It’s amazing what a network of connections can do),” she pointed out.
In the last hearing, the Senate revealed the luxury cars owned by Pharmally executives.
In line with this, Hontiveros said she supports Senator Leila de Lima’s call for the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to freeze and investigate the assets of Pharmally executives.