The House of Representatives on Tuesday, Sept. 28 subpoenaed Krizle Grace Mago, an executive of the embattled Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corporation, to appear before the chamber’s Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on October 4.
Signed by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and DIWA Partylist Rep. Michael Edgar Aglipay, committee chairman, the subpoena was addressed to Pharmally’s main office at Unit 8 and 9, 22nd Floor of the Fort Victoria Tower B in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Mago has been ‘missing’ after she testified before the Senate Committee on Blue Ribbon and revealed that Pharmally had been hoodwinking government by tampering with the expiry date of allegedly overpriced face shields it delivered to the Department of Health.
Mago has also been offered protection by the Senate should she continue testifying about the controversy.
On Monday, she failed to show up during the hearing conducted by the House good government panel.
Her absence prompted the committee to vote unanimously for the issuance of a subpoena for her.
“Failure to comply with this order is subject to penalty under the law,” the Lower House warned Mago.
In the subpoena ad testificandum issued by Velasco and Aglipay, Mago was advised that she has the option to appear in the next hearing with a counsel of her choice. However, the lawyer’s role will be “limited to advising the witness” of her legal rights during the proceeding.
The Pharmally officer also enjoys the option to personally appear before the panel or attend via virtual conferencing.
The House proceedings is a motu propio inquiry into the 2020 Annual Audit Report of the Commission on Audit in connection with the questioned P42 billion fund transfers made by the Department of Health to the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management.
Blue ribbon committee proceedings on the issue were conducted a few weeks before the House inquiry started.
This belated conduct of the House inquiry has raised accusations that it is being conducted to counter revelations in the Senate hearing that Pharmally’s supply transactions with PS-DBM and DOH were tainted with corruption.
Aglipay vehemently denied the allegations, pointing out that the good government committee would have preferred not to invite Mago to the hearings if the panel lacked objectivity.
Mago, Aglipay pointed out, has made the most damaging statement against Pharmally and the DOH so far, if the Senate hearings were to be evaluated.
"Pakisabi lang if the me or the House is pro-gov't hindi namin hahanapin siya .(Please report that if I or the House were pro-government, we will no longer look for her.) Hinahanap namin siya (We are looking for her) to know the whole truth," stated Aglipay.