Senator Richard Gordon said on Friday, Nov. 26, that the former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang was afraid to come out after the capture of his business colleagues Linconn Ong, as well as siblings Mojit and Twinkle Dargani.
Following the filing of Yang's petition to nullify the arrest orders issued against him as well as the lookout bulletin issued against him by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Gordon, who is chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon panel,that has been scrutinizing Pharmally, said that Yang has lied to the Senate multiple times.
"Ang pagsampa niya ng kaso sa Korte Suprema ay bahagi ng desperadong tangkang pagpapaikot sa Senate Blue Ribbon Committee sa isinasagawa nitong imbestigasyon sa katiwaliang naganap sa gitna ng pandemya (Yang's complaint before the Supreme Court is part of a desperate move to throw off the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee from the investigation it's conducting on the anomalies that occurred during the pandemic)," he said.
Gordon recalled that before Yang took his oath in the Senate, in many instances, he denied the simple truth behind the actual location of his house in Forbes Park and that he only showed up after an "Order of Contempt" was released against him.
He added that after taking his oath to reveal the truth, Yang lied about his role in Pharmally saying that his duty only was to introduce its officials to President Duterte which was refuted by his interpreter Ong, who admitted that Yang introduced suppliers from China and assured the payment of Pharmally's expenses. Ong also stated, according to Gordon, that Yang financed Pharmally's business operations.
Other than the issues with Pharmally, Gordon also stated that Yang admitted that violated the law by not paying taxes for the 9 years that he was in the Philippines. Despite this and stating that he does not have any money, Gordon said that Yang was able to fund huge structures in Davao City where the Dargani siblings were apprehended onboard a private jet; where Yang's other business colleagues from other companies hail from; and where the members of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) that were appointed by the President come from.
"Sobra-sobra na ang pagbibigay ng Pilipinas. Sa pag-uubos ni Michael Yang sa oras ng Senado at Korte Suprema, marapat alalahanin ang kasabihang “(H)e who comes to court must come with clean hands (The Philippines has tolerated too much. For allowing Michael Yang to waste the time of the Senate and the Supreme Court, we should remember the saying 'e who comes to court must come with clean hands),” Gordon said.
He added that the panel defends the rights of the Filipino people which weighs more than the privileges of a foreigner who lives in lies.