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Mago retracts testimony

Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. executive Krizle Grace Mago on Monday recanted her statement before the Senate that the firm had swindled the government.

Appearing before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, Mago said she was under pressure when she made the statement in the Senate.

"I do admit that it was a pressured response. Given the amount of pressure that I was under at that time and even the rush of emotions associated with the allegations made and my subsequent admission, I was not in the proper frame of mind to think clearly," she told lawmakers

"At that time, to be honest, what I considered was the fact that we already delivered a portion of these face shields containing the mixed product certificates to the Department of Health. But after the Senate hearing and after I evaluated my answers or my testimonies, I realized that the face shields that we partially delivered to the Department of Health have not been inspected," she said.

Mago said Pharmally did not receive payment from the Department of Health for the partial delivery.

She maintained that the face shields were not expired and that there was "a mix-up of the product certificates when we repacked the face shields."

"There was never an instruction to change...the production date, Mr. Chairman, but there was an instruction to proceed with the repacking," Mago said.

She also denied "all allegations made by" the witness who appeared in a video presented by Sen. Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros on September 24.

Pharmally "has never delivered damaged items to the government; neither does it intend to," Mago said.

She said Pharmally "conducts its routine quality inspections on the inventory prior to making deliveries" and it was during such an inspection that the damaged face shields turned up.

The damaged items "were immediately segregated subject to proper disposal and therefore, they were excluded for delivery," Mago said.

Sen. Richard Gordon, who heads the Senate blue ribbon committee that is investigating Pharmally's contracts with the government, said that he expected Mago to retract her testimony.

Mago had testified before the committee that Mohit Dargani, Pharmally treasurer, ordered her to alter the expiry date on face shields intended for public health workers. Dargani denied Mago's claim.

During her last appearance before Gordon's panel, Mago was asked if Pharmally was swindling the government. "I believe so," she replied.

Pharmally won over P8 billion worth of contracts for medical supplies despite having only a ρáíd-up capital of P625,000.

Gordon said he was not surprised by Mago's about-face. "I expected it. How can you not expect? First, she says she's gonna see us. And then, bumigay na siya (she succumbed [to pressure from Pharmally])," he said.

"Like what I said the other day, what she's said, she's already said," he added.

He said that after her testimony, Mago could no longer be reached. Gordon believes that Mago's bosses had instructed her to stop communicating with the Senate.

"So, I knew she was already in the embrace of the Devil. And then when she got to the House, it's just a matter of time she would recant," Gordon said in a phone interview.

Asked if Mago committed perjury by making a contradictory statement before the House, Gordon said, "Oh yeah, because she took an oath."

"She was very calm. She was on video. I asked her twice; she was asked by other senators. She said a definite 'Yes, I believe so.'"

He accused the House of abetting Mago.

"It is a continuing crime. It's a continuing offense. It's a cover-up just like the President (Rodrigo Duterte) is engaged in a cover-up, like the Congress is covering up for them," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senators Hontiveros and Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan dismissed Mago's claim that they pressured her to implicate Pharmally.

Drilon took exception to Mago's claim that she was pressured to elicit the response the panel wanted to hear.

"What is a 'pressured response?' Ms Mago's statement was spontaneous, with no trace of any 'pressure' being exerted. The statement was on video, under oath," he said.

"Note that she did not deny making the statement that the government was swindled. Her statement that 'she's not in the best frame of mind to think clearly' is totally self-serving and does not have any value and cannot be corroborated," Drilon said.

Hontiveros also doubted if Mago made a "pressured response" to questioning by the panel members. "Let us remember that Ms. Mago was under oath when she was speaking before the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing. Questions were only directed to her and she, in fact, answered forthrightly," she said.

Pangilinan said Mago was a "rehearsed witness."

On Monday, the House committee terminated its inquiry on the controversial Pharmally contracts.

DIWA Rep. Michael Aglipay, the committee chairman, assured that the committee report "will be fair and based on evidence."
 
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