MICHAEL YANG SUBPOENAED ANEW BY SENATE PROBERS

SENATE probers are issuing another summons for a former presidential adviser believed to hold the key to the questioned award of P8.7-billion in personal protective equipment (PPE) contract, after he skipped an earlier Blue Ribbon inquiry.

In a report to Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the investigating Blue Ribbon Committee on Public Accountability, probers confirmed they are summoning anew former Presidential adviser Michael Yang who was earlier linked to a company that cornered bulk of the PPE transactions, but had denied any involvement.

Reports reaching Senate probers indicated, however, the businessman and ex-presidential adviser had ties to some of the firms that cornered the PPE purchases in 2020.

This, as confirmed formal invitations and subpoenas are being served to witnesses to ensure their appearance at the next hearing of the Blue Ribbon, whose chairman, Gordon, called the inquiry to look into the Commission on Audit (COA) report of “deficiencies” in the DOH management of over P62 billion in funds in 2020.

The senators’ attention was drawn to the Coa-questioned transfer of P42 billion in DOH funds to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), without a memorandum of agreement. Justifying the fund transfer before the Blue Ribbon last week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III claimed the DOH was swamped with other bidding chores at the peak of the pandemic, and thus had to outsource procurement to PS-DBM.

Probers said the secretariat initially served the formal invitations to “resource persons” to attend the previous hearing, but others did not show up in last week’s hearing prompting the issuance of subpoenas.

Committee sources said that in the case of Mr. Yang, his office accepted the subpoena but the staff said he could not be contacted.

Yang appearing at the Senate inquiry is held unlikely after probers received documentation linking him to the PS-DBM purchase of allegedly overpriced medical supplies. Video obtained by Senate probers, from state-run station RTVM showed, Gordon noted, Michael Yang presenting to President Duterte the officials of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation that supplied government P8.67 billion worth of medicines to contain the pandemic last year.

Pharmally has raised alarm bells because it turned out to be a company incorporated only in 2019, with paid-up capital of P625,000, but it cornered over P8 billion in contracts.

In contrast, several Filipino firms, notably garment makers that were requested by government to retrofit operations because of the then global shortage of PPES, did not bag a single contract from DOH, losing out to a clutch of mostly Chinese suppliers. The onlyfilipinofirmthatbaggedcontracts, Pharmally,turnedouttohavequestionable credentials.