Krizle Grace Mago described Monday as a pressured response her admission that Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation “swindled” the government when it You do not have permission to view the full content of this post.
Log in or register now. of the face shields delivered to the Department of Health.
“Regarding my previous statement that I believed we swindled the government, it was a pressured response. Given the level of pressure I was under and the rush of emotions associated with the allegations and my subsequent admission, I was not in the best frame of mind to think clearly,” Mago said during the resumption of the House hearing on the alleged overpriced COVID-19 supplies.
During the September 24 Senate hearing, Senator Richard Gordon asked if she thinks they were swindling the government. Mago replied, “I believe so, Mr. chairman.” Gordon chairs the Senate blue ribbon committee looking into matter.
She said at that time she considered the fact that they have already delivered a portion or 28% of the face shields to DOH.
“However, after the Senate hearing, I realized that the delivered items had not been inspected yet and, as a result, had not been allocated and distributed to the end-users. Additionally, we did not receive any payment from the government for the partial delivery,” she said.
Contrary to her admission during the Senate probe, Mago denied at the House hearing the allegations made by the witness presented by Senator Risa Hontiveros last September 24 that Pharmally You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
The witness said he and other Pharmally employees tampered with the certificates of the face shields upon the instruction of Mago. It added that even if the face shields were crumpled, boxes were dirty and not in good shape, they would still repacked it.
The witness further said the foam attached to the face shields were turning yellow as they were soaked in rainwater. After repacking the face shields, the witness said they will attach a sticker on the finished goods stating that it is “Philippine Government Property.”
Mago said Pharmally never delivered damaged items to the government nor did it intend to as the firm conducted routine quality inspection of its inventory prior to making deliveries.
“It is in the conduct of this quality control that PPC was able to identify damaged items such as, but not limited to, dented, folded, torn or broken, and discolored face shields,” she said.
She added the damaged items are immediately segregated subject to proper disposal and excluded from delivery.
Mago further said that when they received the inventory, the face shields were already inconsistently packed, meaning there were face shields packed individually and face shields packed in groups.
“And these face shields packed in groups had only one product certificate included inside the packaging. To make matters worse, in the course of our quality control inspections, a significant number of packs were opened for the purpose of removing the damaged items,” she said.
She said she raised the concern in a meeting with her principals sometime in August 2021, and it was decided to repack the stocks uniformly in groups of 10 face shields per pack for easier and more efficient inventory management and accounting.
“This was the same instructions I relayed to the warehouse staff. In the conduct of the repacking, different packs with broken quantities were merged to produce uniform packs of 10 face shields. And as a result of the merging, some certificates got mixed up while others were subsequently discarded as the staff only needed to choose one product certificate to include in the pack,” she said.
“If we compare the two product certificates shown in the video, we can see that the old certificate, which was replaced, had a production date of April 2020 with a validity of three years, whereas the new certificate had a production date of April 2021 with a validity of 24 months, which is equivalent to two years,” she added.
Mago said neither of the face shields bearing both certificates had previously expired.
“To further clarify, the face shields required by the DOH for this contract, according to the Technical Specifications, are non-medical grade face shields,” she said.
During the Senate hearing, Mago said she followed the order from the Pharmally management, particularly its corporate treasurer and secretary Mohit Dargani.
When asked about it by panel chairman Michael Edgar Aglipay, Mago denied that Dargani ordered her to change the expiry date.
“There was never an instruction to change the date, the production date, but there was an instruction to proceed with the repacking,” she said.
Because of the changes in her testimony, Aglipay asked Mago if she is ready to face perjury charges that could be filed against her to which the latter replied, “Yes, Mr. Chairman.”
Expected
Reacting to the development, senators denied they exerted pressure on Mago, even as Gordon said it was You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
“She was under pressure, she says? But the questions posed to her were delivered in calm and very measured manners,” Gordon said.
“That she recanted? What do you expect- she has been taken into the bosom of Pharmally and interests protective of the administration’s interest- no matter how vile. Nakipagyakapan na siya sa demonyo, makakawala pa ba iyan? (She is already embracing the devil, could she escape that?),” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon described Mago’s response as “spontaneous” and it could be reviewed in the live video of the hearing.
“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. Note that she did not deny making the statement that the government was swindled,” Drilon said.
Health concerns
Describing herself as a shy and socially awkward person, Mago said the past two months have been difficult for her, which has been exacerbated by her involvement in the ongoing investigations.
“It was extremely traumatic for me to be accused of lying and threatened with contempt. Personally, I was perplexed as to how I could be perceived as a liar when I was simply responding directly to questions based on facts reflected on the records, which I even promptly forwarded to the committee upon request,” she said.
She added that she tested positive for COVID-19 during the course of the hearing, which resulted in a decline in her physical health.
She said she experienced the symptoms particularly dry cough which got worse as the days went by.
However, when asked by Representative Rodante Marcoleta if she was seen by a doctor, Mago said she did not have a chance but she informed the city health officer about her condition.— AOL/RSJ, GMA News
This article You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. was originally published in You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
“Regarding my previous statement that I believed we swindled the government, it was a pressured response. Given the level of pressure I was under and the rush of emotions associated with the allegations and my subsequent admission, I was not in the best frame of mind to think clearly,” Mago said during the resumption of the House hearing on the alleged overpriced COVID-19 supplies.
During the September 24 Senate hearing, Senator Richard Gordon asked if she thinks they were swindling the government. Mago replied, “I believe so, Mr. chairman.” Gordon chairs the Senate blue ribbon committee looking into matter.
She said at that time she considered the fact that they have already delivered a portion or 28% of the face shields to DOH.
“However, after the Senate hearing, I realized that the delivered items had not been inspected yet and, as a result, had not been allocated and distributed to the end-users. Additionally, we did not receive any payment from the government for the partial delivery,” she said.
Contrary to her admission during the Senate probe, Mago denied at the House hearing the allegations made by the witness presented by Senator Risa Hontiveros last September 24 that Pharmally You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
The witness said he and other Pharmally employees tampered with the certificates of the face shields upon the instruction of Mago. It added that even if the face shields were crumpled, boxes were dirty and not in good shape, they would still repacked it.
The witness further said the foam attached to the face shields were turning yellow as they were soaked in rainwater. After repacking the face shields, the witness said they will attach a sticker on the finished goods stating that it is “Philippine Government Property.”
Mago said Pharmally never delivered damaged items to the government nor did it intend to as the firm conducted routine quality inspection of its inventory prior to making deliveries.
“It is in the conduct of this quality control that PPC was able to identify damaged items such as, but not limited to, dented, folded, torn or broken, and discolored face shields,” she said.
She added the damaged items are immediately segregated subject to proper disposal and excluded from delivery.
Mago further said that when they received the inventory, the face shields were already inconsistently packed, meaning there were face shields packed individually and face shields packed in groups.
“And these face shields packed in groups had only one product certificate included inside the packaging. To make matters worse, in the course of our quality control inspections, a significant number of packs were opened for the purpose of removing the damaged items,” she said.
She said she raised the concern in a meeting with her principals sometime in August 2021, and it was decided to repack the stocks uniformly in groups of 10 face shields per pack for easier and more efficient inventory management and accounting.
“This was the same instructions I relayed to the warehouse staff. In the conduct of the repacking, different packs with broken quantities were merged to produce uniform packs of 10 face shields. And as a result of the merging, some certificates got mixed up while others were subsequently discarded as the staff only needed to choose one product certificate to include in the pack,” she said.
“If we compare the two product certificates shown in the video, we can see that the old certificate, which was replaced, had a production date of April 2020 with a validity of three years, whereas the new certificate had a production date of April 2021 with a validity of 24 months, which is equivalent to two years,” she added.
Mago said neither of the face shields bearing both certificates had previously expired.
“To further clarify, the face shields required by the DOH for this contract, according to the Technical Specifications, are non-medical grade face shields,” she said.
During the Senate hearing, Mago said she followed the order from the Pharmally management, particularly its corporate treasurer and secretary Mohit Dargani.
When asked about it by panel chairman Michael Edgar Aglipay, Mago denied that Dargani ordered her to change the expiry date.
“There was never an instruction to change the date, the production date, but there was an instruction to proceed with the repacking,” she said.
Because of the changes in her testimony, Aglipay asked Mago if she is ready to face perjury charges that could be filed against her to which the latter replied, “Yes, Mr. Chairman.”
Expected
Reacting to the development, senators denied they exerted pressure on Mago, even as Gordon said it was You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
“She was under pressure, she says? But the questions posed to her were delivered in calm and very measured manners,” Gordon said.
“That she recanted? What do you expect- she has been taken into the bosom of Pharmally and interests protective of the administration’s interest- no matter how vile. Nakipagyakapan na siya sa demonyo, makakawala pa ba iyan? (She is already embracing the devil, could she escape that?),” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon described Mago’s response as “spontaneous” and it could be reviewed in the live video of the hearing.
“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. Note that she did not deny making the statement that the government was swindled,” Drilon said.
Health concerns
Describing herself as a shy and socially awkward person, Mago said the past two months have been difficult for her, which has been exacerbated by her involvement in the ongoing investigations.
“It was extremely traumatic for me to be accused of lying and threatened with contempt. Personally, I was perplexed as to how I could be perceived as a liar when I was simply responding directly to questions based on facts reflected on the records, which I even promptly forwarded to the committee upon request,” she said.
She added that she tested positive for COVID-19 during the course of the hearing, which resulted in a decline in her physical health.
She said she experienced the symptoms particularly dry cough which got worse as the days went by.
However, when asked by Representative Rodante Marcoleta if she was seen by a doctor, Mago said she did not have a chance but she informed the city health officer about her condition.— AOL/RSJ, GMA News
This article You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. was originally published in You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..