Thread by @maracepeda

The Senate blue ribbon committee conducts its 13th hearing on the anomalous pandemic contracts inked by President Rodrigo Duterte's government. @rapplerdotcom

@rapplerdotcom Blue ribbon panel chair Richard Gordon recaps previous hearing, recalls that TigerPhil Marketing Corporation, a supplier of the Duterte govt's biggest pandemic supplier Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, underdeclared about 30% of its sales

READ: rappler.com/nation/tigerph…

@rapplerdotcom Senators last week also uncovered that Xuzhou Consruction, the 2nd biggest winner of pandemic contracts under Duterte, bagged at least P1.8 billion in pandemic contracts but does not pay income tax.

READ: rappler.com/nation/procure…

@rapplerdotcom Gordon thanks National Privacy Commission Commissioner Raymund Liboro for saying data privacy rights can't be invoked to evade govt investigating bodies.

Businessmen embroiled in the Pharmally scandal have been citing data privacy rights to avoid answering senators' questions.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon hits Pres Duterte again for defending businessmen tagged in Pharmally scandal like his former economic adviser Michael Yang.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon: Bakit nya ipinagtatanggol ang isang private company? Bakit niya pinagtatanggol ang isang taong nagngangalang Michael Yang? Sa akin lang po, Mr. President, lumalabas sa akin na ito ay foreign agents.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon appeals to BIR to do its job and ask for the documents being requested by senators from resource persons who are refusing to cooperate.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon once again hits Duterte for defending officials, businessmen involved in the Pharmally scandal:
Bakit ginagawa yan? Siguro dapat magtanong ang taongbayan na si Tatay Digong, dapat pinangangalagaan ang anak, ang pamilya ng Pilipinas. Ang inaalagan, yung interes ng China

@rapplerdotcom Gordon continues to criticize Duterte, who has been angered by the Senate's ongoing hearings on the PHarmally scandal. Gordon slams Duterte for refusing to disclose his SALNs to the public, saying, "Kung walang dapat i-doktor o ikatakot, bakit tinatago 'yan?"

@rapplerdotcom Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon says possible tax liabilities of the pandemic contracts suppliers should be further probed. He estimates, subject to further verification, that the suppliers should have paid some P7.5 billion in income taxes.

@rapplerdotcom Drilon: Subject to further verification, potentially, out of the P42B in supply contracts awarded by PS-DBM, the suppliers is supposed to have paid P7.5B in income taxes... Ang tanong: Nagbayad po ba sila ng buwis? Magkano ang binayad nila?

@rapplerdotcom Drilon: It is incumbent upon this committee to look into the taxes paid by these suppliers.

@rapplerdotcom Drilon: It is in this context, Mr Chairman, that I move that the income tax returns which were provided by the BIR to the committee, which under the law should be given in executive session, should be made public because of what we have learned so far.

@rapplerdotcom Senator Risa Hontiveros seconds Drilon's motion for the panel to publicize documents regarding taxes of the Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation and Xuzhou Consruction and their respective officials that was submitted by the BIR to the committee.

Senators accept Drilon's motion.

@rapplerdotcom Drilon also makes motion for the panel to craft a resolution urging BIR to form a task force to conduct a special audit on the tax returns of Pharmally, Xuzhou Consruction. Motion also approved by senators.

@rapplerdotcom Drilon's presentation shows there's a lack of records available regarding the taxable income of Pharmally's Mohit Dargani, Twinkle Dargani, but they did pay taxes.

@rapplerdotcom Drilon also says there are no records available regarding the taxes that Pharmally's Huang Tzu Yen should be paying.

@rapplerdotcom Drilon also says in its 2020 ITR, Pharmally claimed a tax credit of P96,089,293. It's tax due for the same year was sat -589.164.

@rapplerdotcom Drilon says Duterte's ex-economic adviser Michael Yang did not file ITRs for taxable 2017 and prior years.

@rapplerdotcom Drilon says ex-PS-DBM head Lloyd Christopher Lao did not file ITRs from 2017 to 2020.

@rapplerdotcom Pharmally accountant Jeff Mariano now being questioned by senators. He refuses to disclose specific address of the office he admitted he went to in the past to process the financial statements of Pharmally amid pandemic. Pharmally's Mohit Dargani earlier claimed the firm was WFH.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon: Bilyon-bilyon ang pinapa-account sa'yo, di ka nalulula?

Mariano: Nalulala po… Pero on the objective side po, yun po ang requirement sa aming mga accountant.

@rapplerdotcom Mariano says he runs his own accountancy company. Gordon advises him: "Don't join the ranks of the evaders… I don't think you are like that."

@rapplerdotcom Pressed by Gordon, Mariano says he did see P61 million in the cash flow statement of Pharmally, but he says the payables for the amount were not disclosed in the financial documents he had access to.

@rapplerdotcom Duterte's ex-economic adviser and Pharmally's financier Michael Yang now being grilled by Gordon.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon asks Yang, who is answering via an interpreter provided by the committee, when did he first arrive in the PH and what kind of business he was first engaged in.

@rapplerdotcom Yang: I came here around 1999 to 2000 and when I first came here, I went to live with my friend and just went around to take a look at what kind of business I can engage in.

@rapplerdotcom Yang: It was actually a very long time ago. So when I first came to the PH, I visited a lot of cities and I had a friend in Davao, so I also visited Davao. And then from Davao, I had a friend in Davao, so step by step I started to look into potential businesses I can engage in.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon repeats his question to ask what was the specific business Yang started, but Yang insists he couldn't remember since it happened 10-20 years ago. He only supposedly remembers helping out his friend's business.

@rapplerdotcom Yang: I cannot remember the specific detais, but I would help my friend. If they need suppliers, then I will help them. Then slowly, I started to engage in the trading business.

@rapplerdotcom Yang's interpreter tells the committee: Actually the term Mr Yang used was ahente. He was an ahente.

Yang: When I started, I really started as an ahente, as an agent. And then step by step, I started to grow my business, I was not a big businessman when I came here... When I started, I started with RTW, some clothes that I sold. So I was engaged in the trading business.

@rapplerdotcom Yang: At the time that I came here, I didn't bring a lot of money. I was young then. And when Chinese people usually come here, they usually just go around and look what business opportunities there are and I also have my friends also here. That’s how I started.

@rapplerdotcom Yang: I have many friends in Davao, several thousands.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon flashes a picture of a DCLA building, asks Yang if he is the owner. Yang says he was merely renting it.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon to Yang: Marami nagte-text sa akin, ang sinasabi arogante ka, nang-aasar ka. Yan ang tingin ng tao. Ikaw ay isang banyaga sa bansa namin… Walang natutuwa sa’yo kaya magpakatino ka.

@rapplerdotcom Drilon asks Yang for his total income in the Philippines, but Yang says, "Regarding my income in the country, I am not at liberty to disclose this."

@rapplerdotcom Drilon: Per the submission of the BIR to the Senate, it would appear that for taxable years 2014-2017, no ITR was filed on your behalf on the basis of the report submitted to us. Would you confirm this?

Yang says he doesn't understand, will check w/ his accountant

@rapplerdotcom Senator Kiko Pangilinan to Yang: We take offense that you can lie and take away with it… We are rpresntatives of the Filipino people. Show some respect.

Yang then yawns as Pangilinan was saying this. Pangilinan calls him out for doing so.

@rapplerdotcom Yang: I would like to explain to your honor that I don’t have any intentions and I would like to apologize about my yawning a while ago. Maybe it's because I've been sitting her for 6-7 hours and maybe I was tired, so I cannot help myself but yawn.

@rapplerdotcom Yang: Regarding PUTC, I don’t know this company per se but I may know the people in this company.

@rapplerdotcom Pangilinan ends his interpellation of Yang, but he wants the committee to note that the Chinese businessman is likely telling half-truths to the panel.

@rapplerdotcom Pangilinan on Yang: He's not being upfront. He's not telling the whole truth. He's probably telling half-truths before this committee.

@rapplerdotcom Gordon suspends the Pharmally hearing, to be resumed on November 4.