Opposition Senator Francis ‘’Kiko’’ Pangilinan on Thursday, September 30, revealed that another undercapitalized firm was able to bag P7.6 billion worth of medical supplies for the national government’s anti-COVID 19 program.

Pangilinan made the revelation in the 10th hybrid public hearing by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on the ’’intrinsic overpricing’’ of medical supplies in multi-billion-peso contracts awarded by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).

The supply contracts paid by PS-DBM came from the P42 billion COVID-19 response funds of the Department of Health (DOH).

Pangilinan identified the firm as ‘’Element Trade Limited’’ which supposedly had a paid up capital of $10,000 but was able to bag P7.6 billion in government contracts for the purchase of medical supplies.

Element was incorporated in April, 2020, Pangilinan told his colleagues.

It could be 10,000 Hong Kong dollars, Senator Richard Gordon, committee chairman, quipped.

Senators are loggerheads with Malacañang over the award by PS-DBM of about P11 billion worth of COVID 19-related medical supplies to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, a retailer, in March, 2020 although it had only a paid up capital of P625,000.

Gordon asked aloud why President Duterte was overly protective of his former economic adviser, Michael Yang, who denied a statement of Linconn Ong, a Pharmally director, that it was Yang who financially helped Pharmally so that it could bag the contracts.

Lloyd Christopher Lao resigned from as PS-DBM chief in mid-2021. Like President Duterte and Yang, Lao is a Davao resident.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the Philippine could have saved so much had it bought the medical supplies direct from China-based manufacturers.

This was done by Australia and Chile, she said.