SUPPORTERS FROM TAYABAS, QUEZON FULLY SUPPORT LACSON-SOTTO TANDEM

SUPPORTERS FROM TAYABAS, QUEZON

FULLY SUPPORT LACSON-SOTTO TANDEM

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Lacson: Pharmally Bagged 26.39% of P42B Contracts with PS-DBM

Lacson: Pharmally Bagged 26.39% of P42B Contracts with PS-DBM

September 24, 2021

September 24, 2021 - Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp. bagged more than one-fourth of some P42 billion in contracts with the Department of Budget Procurement Service (PS-DBM) for medical supplies to address the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Panfilo M . Lacson bared Friday.

Lacson cited DBM documents indicating that of 45 suppliers, Pharmally grabbed 26.39 percent of the P42 billion transferred by the Department of Health to the PS-DBM.

"Out of 44 other suppliers, Pharmally ang No. 1, and you bagged 26.39% of the P42 billion transferred by DOH to the PS-DBM even with a P625,000 initial capitalization," Lacson told Pharmally Director Linconn Ong at the Senate hearing on the matter.

"We’d like to find out from PS-DBM. Ito ba ang kultura sa PS-DBM, ang bulk more than 26% of contracts napunta sa Pharmally? Or this is unusual? Or this is very special (Is this the culture in PS-DBM to award the bulk of contracts to Pharmally? Is this unusual or is this very special)?" he added.

Lacson also questioned why officials of Pharmally would buy expensive luxury vehicles after bagging the first contract.

Other businessmen would have reinvested their money into their business if they made a huge profit, instead of going on a buying spree, he added.

Earlier, Lacson extracted a confession from Pharmally employee Krizle Mago after she admitted she acted on instructions from higher management in having a warehouseman remove the "Expired" labels dated 2020 from face masks, and replace them with 2021 as the new expiry date.

Mago also admitted upon further questioning from Lacson that she acted on orders from Pharmally treasurer Mohit Dargani.

"Who ordered you to give the instruction to the warehouseman to remove the label? I suppose it was not on your own initiative you gave that instruction?" Lacson told Mago, who replied she received the instructions from Dargani.

Mago also admitted she was instructed by higher management to exchange emails with the Department of Budget and Management Procurement Service (PS-DBM) even after Pharmally already delivered overpriced surgical masks "ordered" by the PS-DBM.

"Why did you respond to the PS-DBM's email when the day before, you already delivered what was asked of your company? What was the purpose of sending the response?" Lacson asked.

Lacson also questioned Tigerphil Marketing Corp., from where Pharmally sourced its face masks, how it netted P21.51 million in sales to Pharmally in 2020 when its audited financial statement for 2020 showed it only declared an income of P3.479 million.

Tigerphil president Albert Sy admitted they have paid P553,886.88 in amended tax returns today - well after the Senate started its hearings.

"If the Blue Ribbon Committee did not conduct the hearing, would you pay the amended tax returns?" Lacson remarked, adding Tigerphil's payment showed the Senate hearings did lead to positive results.

"Maski papano, nagbayad. So hindi totoong walang nangyayari sa pagdinig nating ito (Tigerphil paid after all, so it's not true that nothing comes out of the Senate hearings)," he added.

Meanwhile, Lacson also questioned how Tigerphil managed to contact Green Trends, from which it sourced its face masks, when Green Trends has a fictitious address.

Lacson also threatened to have Pharmally Director Linconn Ong transferred to the Pasay City Jail after Ong remained evasive in his answers.

He noted Ong had claimed they sold at a high price because of a scarcity of supply, yet Pharmally managed to deliver medical supplies to the PS-DBM in under three hours.

"Pag patuloy nagsisinungaling si Mr. Ong, the committee might decide to transfer him to Pasay City Jail instead of enjoying life in the Senate," he said.

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Lacson to DOH Chief: Uproot 'Syndicate' Behind P841M Ambulance Overprice

Lacson to DOH Chief: Uproot 'Syndicate' Behind P841M Ambulance Overprice

September 24, 2021

September 24, 2021 - The Philippine government easily lost some P841 million in the purchase of ambulances that were found overpriced by P1 million each, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Friday.

Lacson said such overpricing may involve a deeply rooted "syndicate" in the Department of Health, even as he challenged DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III to uproot this syndicate.

Such a syndicate also appears to be behind the recurring overstocking of expired and near-expiry medicines amounting to P2.736 billion, including P2.2 billion in 2019 alone.

"Entrenched ang sindikato kasi nariyan ang overpricing. Yan gusto namin matingnan ninyo nang maayos para ma-uproot ang sindikato sa loob ng department. Pre-pandemic at during the pandemic, parang hindi nagbabago ang pagbili ng expired medicines at overpricing (It seems this syndicate involved in overpricing is entrenched in the DOH. We need you to look into this to uproot this syndicate, which has been operating pre-pandemic and during the pandemic)," he said at the Senate hearing on the purchase of overpriced medical supplies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Sana gawan ninyo ng paraan para ma-uproot, ma-expose at mahinto ang sindikato sa DOH (We are asking you to take proper action to uproot, expose and stop this syndicate)," he added.

For his part, Duque replied, "Yes Sir, sisiguraduhin kong matutukan ito (Yes Sir, I'll make sure to look into this)."

Upon Lacson's questioning, Duque said the DOH procured and distributed 841 ambulances under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) for 2019 and 2020.

Lacson said records showed each ambulance procured by the DOH cost some P2.5 million including automated external defibrillators (AEDs), though some of the ambulances the DOH distributed to the CALABARZON area were without the AEDs.

But one local government unit that planned to procure an ambulance with similar specifications found that it cost only P1.5 million.

Lacson said ambulances procured by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office cost P1.585 million, while those procured by the private sector cost P1.650 million.

"Bakit ang layo ng diprensya ng presyo kung DOH bumibili compared sa ibang entities (Why is there a big difference when it comes to the DOH)?" he asked.

"Isa lang ang ma-conclude namin dito. Pag may overpricing di ba may kumikita (We can arrive at only one conclusion. If there is overpricing, is it not true that someone is making a profit)?" he added.

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Bongbong parrots Duterte on West PH Sea: We don’t stand a chance vs China

 Bongbong parrots Duterte on West PH Sea: We don’t stand a chance vs China

MANILA, Philippines—Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who is inclined to run for a national post in the 2022 elections, on Friday (Sept. 24) parroted President Rodrigo Duterte’s line on Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea, saying the Philippines can’t afford to go to war with the Asian giant.

At an online news forum, the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos said the Philippines will lose in no time should war break out.

“‘Yung policy of engagement na ginagawa ng Duterte government, although it is criticized, it is the right way to go. Dahil kahit anong gawin natin, hindi naman natin pwede gyerahin,” he said.

(The policy of engagement which the Duterte government is implementing, although it is criticized, it is the right way to go. Because whatever we do, we can’t go to war.)

“May nagsasabi bumili tayo ng patrol boats, ‘yung mga jets, para kung sakali mapalaban tayo. Bakit natin iisipin ‘yun kung mapalaban tayo, tapos ang gyerang ‘yan wala pang isang linggo tapos na yan. Talo na tayo, wag na natin isipin ‘yun,” he added.

(There are those who say we buy patrol boats, then the jets, just in case we get to fight. Why would we think we will fight? Then that war will be over in less than a week. We’re defeated already, let’s not think that way.)

He said that in a territorial conflict, going to war is one of the options “to acquire a new territory.”

“Ayaw naman natin gawin ‘yun. I don’t think the Chinese want to go to war with us. Certainly, we don’t want to go to war with China,” he added.

(We don’t want to do that, I don’t think the Chinese want to go to war with us. Certainly, we don’t want to go to war with China.)

Marcos said the Philippines should explore “different levels” in dealing with China, adding that Filipino fishermen should be able to fish freely.

Duterte has been criticized for his policy on the West Philippine Sea and for setting aside the international tribunal’s 2016 ruling that rejected China’s fictitious claims of “historic rights” in the South China Sea.

Duterte has repeatedly said the Philippines can’t afford to go to war with China to enforce sovereignty, a line that West Philippine Sea experts debunked as mere scare tactic.

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, two officials who led the Philippines’ maritime case against China, had said the Philippines need not go to war to assert sovereignty and the war option being repeatedly mentioned by Duterte was just meant to intimidate Filipinos to bow to China’s wishes.

Ooops…

Marcos, at the same forum, wrongly called the arbitral tribunal in The Hague, which ruled in favor of the Philippines against China, as the ICC (International Criminal Court).

The ICC recently announced that it will investigate Duterte’s war on drugs.

Marcos said the Philippines and China dealt with issues on the West Philippine Sea bilaterally “up until 2010 when we filed a case at the ICC.” The Philippines filed a case during the Aquino administration in 2013 at the arbitral tribunal based in The Hague months after China seized and took control of Scarborough Shoal.

“Ang pag solusyon sa territorial conflict, naaayos lang ‘yan sa ICC. Pero kailangan sumang-ayon ang parehong bansa para maayos ang problema,” Marcos said.

(Solving territorial conflict is fixed only in the ICC. But both nations should agree to solve the problem)

“Pero ang China, hindi naman signatory sa ICC, sa pagtaguyod ng ICC. Pangalawa, sinabi na nila mula sa umpisa, hindi naman kinikikilala ‘yung mga desisyon sa ICC, so wala na tayo ‘dun,” he said.

(But China is not a signatory to the ICC, in the auspices of the ICC. Second, they said at the start that they don’t recognize the ICC decision, so we have nothing there)...

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"Ping Lacson is a decent man" – Cebu Gov Gwen Garcia

 "Ping Lacson is a decent man" – Cebu Gov Gwen Garcia

Presidential candidate and Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (right) pays a courtesy call on Cebu Governor Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia (left) at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Friday afternoon, September 17, 2021. (Calvin D. Cordova/Manila Bulletin)

CEBU CITY — Senator Ping Lacson drew praises from Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia when he paid a courtesy call at the Capitol on Friday.

While Lacson has already announced that he is running for president in the 2022 elections, Garcia said the former police general did not try to convince her to support his candidacy.

“That is not his nature,” Garcia said.

Garcia said even her father, the late Pabling Garcia, was impressed with Lacson.

Garcia recalled that when Lacson ran for president in 2004, he no longer asked for the support of Pabling, who at the time was supporting Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

“I remember before when he also ran for president, my father was the governor and I was a consultant to my father. He came to visit my dad, he had the decency not to ask my father. He knew that my father was committed to GMA. I can never forget the comment of my father. My father said “Ping Lacson is a decent man”,” Garcia said.

During the meeting, Lacson was accompanied by former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Lacson’s running mate Vicente” Tito” Sotto III was not around.

Garcia said the meeting, which lasted for about 30 minutes, was “all pleasantries.”

Lacson refused be interviewed with local media, saying he had to catch the Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.

Aside from talking about Lacson’s stint as chief of the Cebu police, Garcia informed the Senator that her local party One Cebu is not yet aligning with national candidates until the deadline of the substitution of candidates on November 15.

“Because right now, the situations seem to be very fluid in the national scene and we will only decide well after November 15,” said Garcia.

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Sen Ping Lacson at Bayang Luma Elementary School

Sen Ping Lacson at Bayang Luma Elementary School

 

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Oath taking of Region 10 REPORMA Candidates Held In Iligan City

 Oath taking of Region 10 REPORMA Candidates Held In Iligan City

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SUPPORTERS FROM SAN MANUEL, ISABELA FULLY SUPPORT LACSON-SOTTO FOR 2022

  SUPPORTERS FROM SAN MANUEL, ISABELA FULLY SUPPORT LACSON-SOTTO FOR 2022

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TRICYCLE DRIVER’S IN TACLOBAN, LEYTE WITH DR. JAIME “JIM” OPINION SUPPORT LACSON-SOTTO FOR 2022

 TRICYCLE DRIVER’S IN TACLOBAN, LEYTE  WITH DR. JAIME “JIM” OPINION  SUPPORT LACSON-SOTTO FOR 2022

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Please share to 130 Million Filipinos !!!

Please share to 130 Million Filipinos !!!

 

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Run for Filipinos. Do not Run for your Parties.

 Run for Filipinos. Do not Run for your Parties

Jocelle Batapa Sigue

September 19, 2021

    I am praying for a Transformation Bloc – every new leader with strong following and show sincerity in their actions like Isko, Leni, PacMan, and the rest who have new value propositions: come together and forget yourselves first and build a Transformation Agenda under which every Filipino can support you collectively. Here are my initial recommendations for a Philippine Transformation Platform.

1. The Philippines interest will always be of primary concern in all global agreements and relations. The welfare of the Filipinos will be the highest consideration in every national and international policy. No more utang na loob, no more mendicant, self-pity attitude. The Philippines must know its global worth as a country. We stand with every nation in equal footing.

2. Full respect shall be accorded to the right of every local government unit to create its own strategies according to law and to the principle of subsidiarity. Full support and guidance for all local mechanisms to empower provinces, cities and municipalities to self-actualize as independent components of national development. No more competition but collaboration between local and national governments.

3. Embracing digital transformation and data-driven governance in all aspects of society – healthcare, education, business and commerce, science and more. Full adoption of interoperability and open data sharing across all departments of government for the convenience of citizens and the efficient delivery of public services. No more compartmentalized “to each his own approach” – but optimizing whole of nation approach.

    It is always hard to detect, prove and correct corruption in the Philippines in the absence of a strong open data governance framework and policy present in high income to high middle to middle income countries. Data-driven integrity frameworks automatically allows citizens to flag fraud and corruption across all government agencies. All government agencies are mandated under the law to publish and share data. In the Philippines, our leaders have no wish establish public trust earned through open governance. That is why we will continue to stay lower middle income country. We are caught in the pointless debates about past events – but never in the institutional debates of empowering citizens to demand integrity in public office earned by developing public trust. Public trust is like a commodity in the Philippines – we trust leaders based on our own opinion. Unstructured data composed of more than 110 Million opinions.

4. Serious adoption of sustainable development, harnessing and harmonizing economic, environmental and social resources. No more greed at the expense of the environment and human survival. Climate change is a very serious issue for many years, but no Philippine president has transcended this issue and designed innovative solutions.

5. Fully invest in the human capital, physical, mental, moral skills. Create and scale skills based (aside from traditional occupation-centric) certification programs to future-proof the work force. Increasing the economic complexity of the country but elevating the knowhow of Filipinos based on international skills metrics. I have so many other suggestions in this area.

    It will hurt our country badly to see more traditional politicians taking the lead. We need new breed of politicians who will reject traditional ways. Our political system today is deeply characterized by patronage politics, the kind that is transactional, personality-based, control-driven and opinion- focused. Traditional politics impede the full growth of the Philippines. It is time to cleanse the system.

    A true leader does not need to destroy himself in the process of leading others. In fact, he or she must continue to build his or her knowledge and integrity as a leader. For he or she understands that by increasing his or her self-worth and integrity, the collective worth of his or her constituency is increased. Destruction of his or her integrity reflects on the integrity of the whole. This is something that many past and present politicians forget. Because of the wrong notion that the seat that they occupy is their own. We often regard our politicians as mere politicians – to me they are our nation’s leaders who will carve the future for us. In their hands is the power to decisively affect the destiny of this country. It is not an easy task. It takes a lot of enlightenment, personal sacrifice, humility, patience to understand new things and constant discipline.

    No more palliative solutions. These are just initial recommendations. I am praying we have leaders who will unite for these goals. Don’t unite for yourselves. Run for Filipinos. Do not run for your parties.

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