Pharmally's Dargani, Ong will come out of jail with heads held high—lawyer (Sabong News)
Author
Mario Casayuran
Date
MAY 17 2022
Two Pharmally Pharmaceutical corporation executives will come out of the Pasay City jail on June 3 with their heads held high ‘’unbroken and unbowed.’’
This was the statement issued today (May 17) by lawyer Vonn Rico Kapunan, lawyer of Mohit Dargani, treasurer, and Linconn Ong, auditor, who have been detained at the Pasay City jail since November.
The Senate Blue Ribbon committee chaired by Senator Richard J, Gordon had cited the two with contempt and had them detained for their refusal or failure to submit to the committee financial records of Pharmally on its more than P10-billion contract to deliver Covid-19 medical supplies to the Procurement Service, Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drikon quesitoned why PS-DBM gave Pharmally the supply contract although it had only more than P600,000 paid up capital.
In a statement to Senate reporters, Kapunan said: “I believe my clients Mohit Dargani and Linconn Ong should have been released sooner upon the Blue Ribbon’s issuance of the committee report sometime in February this year, which was deliberately and purposely characterized as “preliminary” in order to circumvent the Balag doctrine that resource persons cited in contempt must be released upon the issuance of a committee report.’’
‘’We feel that the committee chairman consciously came up with such scheme to keep my clients in jail for as long as he could,’’ he pointed out.
‘’We will be ready to face whatever charges that may be filed in whatever forum in order to prove my clients’ innocence against all the unfair accusations made before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, which was unfortunately used simply as a platform for self-aggrandizement mainly by a reelectionist senator who lost miserably in the last elections,’’ he added.
Earlier, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said Dargani and Ong would be freed as the contempt charge against them by the committee would be extinguished when Congress adjourns sine die on June 3.
