‘Sick’ Michael Yang skips Blue Ribbon probe anew

PRESIDENT Duterte’s former economic adviser Michael Yang was a no-show at Monday’s hearing of the Blue Ribbon committee, with his lawyer saying he was advised by a Davao-based doctor to rest “for five days” for elevated hypertension.

But new testimony at the hearing indicated his financial involvement in Pharmally Pharmaceutical’s Corp. was much bigger than earlier cited, as he had “lent” funds to bankroll Pharmally’s deliveries for nearly P5.7 billion in personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts, per senators’ estimates.

Atty. Raymond Fortun told the committee, chaired by Sen. Richard J. Gordon, that a certain Dr. Jenny A. Agtoon from Davao—where Yang claimed he was in during the September 10 hearing—issued a medical certificate instructing Yang “to remain on bed rest for hypertension.”

At the start of Monday’s hearing, Gordon had rejected Fortun’s explanation for Yang’s absence as a virtual resource person, and told him to go and instruct his client to catch up with the hearing.

Towards the end of the over five-hour hearing, however, Fortun came back online and told senators Yang’s doctor had strict orders for him to rest.

However, Fortun added, “if the BRC [Blue Ribbon committee] sets a hearing within the 5-day period, I will instruct Mr. Yang, if he’s well enough, to of course appear, since he’s been very cooperative.”

Gordon indirectly corrected him and noted that Yang actually evaded 2 subpoenas to appear before the Blue Ribbon—the first one issued at his listed office and the second, at his Forbes Park residence.

The committee will resume its inquiry at 10:30 a.m. on Friday (September 17) morning, and senators expressed hope that Yang would appear then.

Meanwhile, acting on a suggestion by Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon and as so moved by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the committee undertook to ask the Department of Justice to put Yang on a watchlist, so the panel will be notified if Yang, who is from China, tries to leave the country.

The arrest warrant on Yang— for a contempt citation from the Senate —remains in force. He was first cited for evasion of the subpoena; and at Friday’s hearing, when he testified with an interpreter, the contempt citation was affirmed for his alleged attempt to mislead senators by saying his only link with Pharmally was having introduced them to four Chinese suppliers of PPE.

During Friday’s hearing, however, Singapore-based Pharmally executive Huang Tzu Yen admitted that their start-up borrowed, through the firm’s director Lincoln Ong, an unspecified sum from Yang to bankroll their first delivery to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).

At Monday’s hearing, after a series of grilling, senators noted that in all, the total value of contracts where Yang’s name surfaced as a financier amount to P5.697 billion, prompting Gordon to tell Ong that Yang seemed involved “practically in most big-ticket items, right?”

Duterte had described Yang as a Chinese investor who had been doing business in Davao before, and accused senators of bullying him.

Senate probers said their only interest in Pharmally arises from the fact that it cornered—under questionable circumstances that even state auditors flagged—some P8 billion in PPE contracts early on in the pandemic in 2020, despite being newly incorporated and with a paidup capital of only P625,000. The “lack of due diligence” on its background by PS-DBM has drawn senators’ curiosity.