The situation, in brief
Former Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon on Saturday, May 23 renewed his call for the Ombudsman to reopen the Pharmally investigation, citing specific figures that underscore the scale of the alleged anomaly: a company with only ₱625,000 in capital received ₱11.7 billion in government contracts, and…
Former Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon on Saturday, May 23 renewed his call for the Ombudsman to reopen the Pharmally investigation, citing specific figures that underscore the scale of the alleged anomaly: a company with only ₱625,000 in capital received ₱11.7 billion in government contracts, and former President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the transfer of ₱47 billion to the company.
“Tinatawagan ko ang Ombudsman na buksan niya na ‘yang Pharmally para mahuli ‘yan, sapagkat kasama ‘yan sa mga ginawa nung nakaraang administrasyon at hanggang ngayon lumalabas ngayon,” Gordon said in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday.
Gordon said the Pharmally scandal is directly connected to the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, and that the money trail—involving billions of pesos in public funds—must be followed to its logical conclusion. He said former President Duterte himself made a statement naming Lin Weixiong, who held Pharmally’s money sourced from LandBank, as the person to whom Duterte directed the funds.
“Merong statement na pinagkusa ni President Duterte ng pera kay Lin Weixiong, kung saan ‘yun ang may hawak ng pera ng Pharmally na kinukuha nila sa LandBank, at ‘yung binabayaran sila,” Gordon said.
The former senator said the scale of the Pharmally anomaly is staggering and that the failure to pursue it to a conclusion is a textbook example of the impunity that has corroded public trust in Philippine institutions.
“₱625,000 lang ang kapital nitong kumpanyang Pharmally, nakakuha sa nakalap namin ng ₱11.7 billion, at ang inilipat ng Presidente ay ₱47 billion! So ang laki-laki ng perang nakuha nila,” he said.
Gordon said the Ombudsman under the previous administration effectively allowed the Pharmally investigation to stall by failing to act on the Blue Ribbon Committee’s recommendations—and that the current Ombudsman, Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, who has shown greater aggressiveness in pursuing accountability, must now pick up where the Senate left off.
“Walang gumagawa, lalo na dahil ang Ombudsman noon tila hawak ng nakaraang Presidente, ayan ang nangyari diyan,” he said, contrasting the previous Ombudsman’s inaction with Remulla’s recent decisive moves including the suspension of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca.
The former senator said the Pharmally case is not a closed chapter but an ongoing accountability issue that intersects with the current political moment—and that the impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte provides the perfect opportunity to revisit and finally resolve it.
He closed by saying the Philippines cannot afford to let another major scandal fade without closure, warning that the cycle of impunity will continue as long as wrongdoers are allowed to escape consequences.
“Dapat merong closure. And if we do not have any closure, uulit at uulit ‘yan,” Gordon said.
