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'Talk is cheap': Roque says Pharmally exec's claim of face shield tampering must be substantiated
'Talk is cheap': Roque says Pharmally exec's claim of face shield tampering must be substantiated
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque has dismissed a Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. official's claim that the firm sold the government "spoiled" face shields, saying that it's practically an unsubstantiated testimony.
"Ngayon lumalabas po itong mga bagong isyu na ito, ano. Ang tanong po: Tatayo ba ho iyong ganiyang testimonya? Tingnan po natin, kinakailangan po kasi iyan, ma-substantiate (This new issue has now come out. The question is: Will this kind of testimony hold water? We'll see, because it needs to be substantiated)," Roque said during a virtual press briefing Monday, Sept. 27.
The Palace mouthpiece was reacting to Pharmally official Krizle Grace Mago's admission that the company had tampered with the expiration dates of the face shields that it gave the government under a 2020 procurement deal.
"Alam po ninyo kasi, noong ako ay nagti-training pa ng mga abogado, sinasabi ko hangga’t maaari, dapat physical evidence ang ating ibigay sa hukuman. Kasi kung testimonya lang talk is cheap (You know, when I was still training lawyers, I tell them that they should present physical evidence to the court as much as possible. Because if it's just plain testimony, talk is cheap)," he said.
"So hanapan pa po ng substantiated evidence. Hindi lang po iyong testimonya ng isang tao (So, evidence must be presented to substantiate it. A person's testimony won't do)," Roque said.
The government awarded Pharmally with pandemic response contracts worth nearly P8.68 billion in 2020, or when the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) first emerged in the Philippines. The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by President Duterte's nemesis, Senator Richard Gordon, has been investigating the alleged purchase of overpriced COVID-19 supplies from Pharmally.
Roque highlighted on Monday the Senate's failure to show proof of the overpricing claims when it comes to the procured personal protective equipment (PPE) and face shields from Pharmally.
Administration critics have linked Duterte to Pharmally via Davao City businessman Michael Yang’s supposed involvement with the local company. Yang is the President’s former economic adviser.
When asked by the Senate panel if she thought Pharmally had "swindled" the government by changing the expiration dates of the face shields, Magno answered in the affirmative.
Malacañang hasn't been a fan of the Senate panel, especially with the way Gordon has conducted the marathon hearings.
As if to show that he didn't have links to the company, Duterte said two weeks ago that he didn't care if the Senate "ran over" Pharmally in the course of its public inquiry.