SENATE Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman, Senator Richard Gordon on Friday has pressed intensive questions regarding the “untimely” purchase of luxury cars by Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation’s officials.
This, amid the investigation of the said committee, which delves into the company’s P8.6 billion worth of contracts provided by the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) upon the need to procure medical supplies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gordon has presented at least five cars allegedly owned by Pharmally heads, three of which belong to Director Linconn Ong while the other two are owned by corporate secretary and treasurer Mohit Dargani and his sister, Twinkle Dargani, respectively.
According to the senator, possessing such luxury vehicles is not a mere coincidence, citing the Land Transportation Office’s (LTO) records which prove that all cars were registered just months after they closed contract deals with PS-DBM between 2020 to 2021.
Data shows that Mohit acquired a 2019 Porsche 911 Turbo S worth P8.5 million after Twinkle registered a P13-million 2021 Lamborghini Urus.
Ong, meanwhile, registered his Porsche Carrera 4S worth P13.5 million, Lexus RCF worth P5.9 million, and Porsche Cayenne VR6 with an estimated price of P6.35 to P8.85 million.
Gordon pointed out that the officials seem incapable of buying million-peso cars in such a short time, let alone at such a young age.
“Sa madaling sabi, sa sumatotal, talagang nagpapasasa talaga itong mga taong ito, ‘di umano, lumalabas… Pa’no naman kikita ang mga ito? Mga bata pa ito,” Gordon exclaimed.
With only a paid-up capital of over P600,000, senators including Gordon believe that Pharmally should have hardly achieved billions-worth of contract agreements with PS-DBM for procurement of personal protective equipment (PPEs), face masks, and RT-PCR test kits which are allegedly overpriced.
On Tuesday, September 14, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has logged the names of the executives along with other involved officials in the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) watchlist to ensure that the Committee will be notified in the event that anyone from the accused officials attempt to leave the country.