AO vs. ‘hiding’ Pharmally execs yet to be served
By J.Lo
“They were not located yet…we went to the two condos last Saturday and Sunday, but still closed and nobody was around,” in a text message, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms retired Major General Rene Samonte said his team returned to the residences of Mohit and Twinkle Dargani over the weekend in pursuing the duo but to no avail.
The Senate’s arrest orders against the Dargani siblings of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation were still not served almost a week after they were reported to be “in hiding.”
Mohit is Pharmally’s corporate secretary and treasurer while Twinkle is the firm’s president.
The teams from the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) also tried to look for the Darganis in a house which was tipped off by an informant, but they were not there.
“Yesterday, we tried a house believed to be owned or rented by the Darganis but it was also empty,” Samonte said.
The OSAA was assisted by the Philippine National Police, barangay officials, as well as the administrative staff of the condominiums and subdivisions.
Last week, Samonte said the Darganis are apparently “in hiding” after the Senate ordered their arrest.
While being sought by the Senate officers, Mohit issued a statement last Friday, claiming they were “falsely accused” for political gain.
He also said they are “like hostages” and were treated like “criminals whose lives aren’t worthy of living anymore.”
Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Richard Gordon denied this, saying the Darganis, like the other resource persons invited in the investigation, were all treated fairly.
“As Mr. Dargani continued to refuse to give us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, he left the committee no choice but to use its rarely-used power to cite him for contempt but not to punish him, but to compel him to give us a complete picture of the issue being investigated,” Gordon said.
Last Tuesday, the Senate blue ribbon committee cited Mohit and Twinkle in contempt after failing to provide necessary documents being asked by the panel.
Mohit said they are not refusing to submit the documents. However, they were just invoking their rights as advised by their legal counsel.
The National Privacy Commission last week explained that data privacy laws should not be made as an excuse to evade legal questions.
NPC Commissioner Raymund Enriquez Liboro said Data Privacy Act of 2012 does not prohibit disclosure of personal or sensitive personal information for purposes of complying with validly issued subpoenas.
The committee is looking into the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service’s purchase of P8.6-billion worth of allegedly overpriced face masks, face shields, and PPEs from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation. The company only had a P625,000 paid-up capital.
ISKUP! 