Ex-Sen. Gordon may testify in Sandiganbayan’s Pharmally trial

Former Senator Richard Gordon and former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Richard Gordon could testify in the Sandiganbayan First Division’s trial over the Pharmally scandal in August, government prosecutors said on Monday. Prosecutors said they may present Gordon as early as the next court hearing on Aug. 3. The First Division is trying the graft case against former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III and former Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Undersecretary Christopher Lloyd Lao over the alleged anomalies in the transfer of P41.46 billion in Covid-19 response funds. Article continues after this advertisement In 2021, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, led by Gordon, began its probe into the alleged “suspicious” transfer of funds from the DOH to the Procurement Service (PS) of the DBM. Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. came under scrutiny after securing billions of pesos worth of government contracts for medical supplies during the pandemic. The transactions became the subject of Senate investigations and multiple cases over alleged irregularities in the procurement process. READ: Duque grilled over COVID-19 fund spending ‘deficiencies’ The trial began last June, after more than a year, when the anti-graft body filed the case against Duque and Lao in the anti-graft court in September 2024. So far, Duque and Lao have not attended the trial since it began. Both of them also posted a P90,000 bail each for graft in 2024. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Duque wants graft case in Sandigan junked READ: Ex-DBM exec tagged in Pharmally mess arrested for graft in Davao City Article continues after this advertisement The Office of the Ombudsman alleged that Duque and Lao “acted with evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence” in their capacities as heads of the DOH and the PS-DBM when the fund transfer between their agencies took place from March to December 2020. The Ombudsman said the DOH, then led by Duque, should have first determined whether tapping the PS-DBM would expedite the procurement of personal protective equipment needed by public health workers at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. The antigraft body also said the DOH, as the procuring entity, had the authority to directly negotiate or purchase essential medical supplies, making it unnecessary to seek the services of the PS-DBM. /mcm