Malacañang simply brushed aside on Thursday, Nov. 11 the claim of Senator Risa Hontiveros that the Duterte administration is now "feeling the heat" of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's continuing investigation on the controversial Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque was asked to react on the comments made by Hontiveros, who said that President Duterte is now on "damage control" mode.
"Usaping pulitika na po yan galing sa isang reelectionist. Wala pong napatunayang overpriced, wala pong napatunayang paglabag sa kahit anong bidding rules (That is poltical talk coming from a reelectionist. Neither the accusation on the overpriced procurement nor the violation on bidding rules was proven)," Roque said in a virtual press conference.
"So wala pong dapat ikabahala ang Presidente tungkol sa Pharmally (So the President has nothing to worry about regarding Pharmally)," he noted.
Pharmally, an upstart local company, was granted P10 billion worth of government contracts for medical supplies in 2020 when the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first detected in the country.
This year, the Blue Ribbon panel has carried our over 10 hearings in the attempt to uncover anomalies in Pharmally's transactions.
Roque has exerted significant effort in trying to prove that the procurement of COVID-19 supplies via Pharmally was above board. President Duterte, for his part, had earlier dared the probing senators to crush Pharmally, saying he didn't care about the firm or its officials.
But the Palace's recent warning on Phramally executives to settle their taxes or else be sent to prison had been interpreted by Hontiveros as a shift in stance by the executive branch.
Roque responded by saying that the Chief Executive was just being consistent on the issue of tax evasion. "Malinaw po ang track record ng Presidente (The President's track record is clear)."
"Kung mayroong mga issue na dapat habulin ang Pharmally, sabi ni Presidente, habulin nang habulin. Wala siyang pakialam. Pero sa ngayon po, walang napatunayang paglabag sa batas pagdating sa korapsyon at sa paglabag ng bidding rules (If Pharmally must be dealt with on some issues, then go after them. He doesn't care. But until now, there were no proven violations when it comes to anti-corruption laws and bidding rules)," he said.