Pharmally’s secretary general and treasurer Mohit Dargani told senators he only thought he was working for the office of then-presidential economic adviser Michael Yang, but found he didn’t was not
Has Pharmally’s Secretary General and Treasurer, Mohit Dargani, ever worked for Malacañang?
The Pharmally executive said no, but Senator Risa Hontiveros had “receipts” to show.
During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Tuesday, September 21 on alleged overpriced pandemic purchases, Hontiveros asked Dargani, “Have you ever worked for the government under Presidential Economic Advisor Michael? Yang?
“No, your honor, I have never worked for the government,†Dargani said. But Hontiveros showed a screenshot of Dargani’s LinkedIn profile, which showed he worked for the former presidential economic adviser’s office as Yang’s “special assistantâ€.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Dargani, Mr. Chairman. We have a screenshot of your LinkedIn page, Mr. Dargani. Here, special assistant in the office of the presidential economic adviser. So, Mr. Chairman, you, Mr. Dargani and Linconn Ong both worked for Michael Yang, â€Hontiveros said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Ong, a director of Pharmally, also worked for Yang as a translator, according to Hontiveros.
Senators ordered the arrest of Yang and Ong for evading questions during the hearings. Ong is now in the physical custody of the Senate.
“Ngayon nagsama-sama po kayo sa Pharmally, nakakuha ng bilyon-bilyong economic incentive mula sa gobyerno. Galing talaga kapag can network â€, Hontiveros said.
(Now you’ve all gathered at Pharmally and pocketed billions of government economic incentives. It’s amazing when you have connections.)
LinkedIn is a job platform that is “primarily used for professional networking and allows job seekers to post their resumes and employers to post vacancies.” A person’s LinkedIn account also includes a list of their previous employment.
“I tried to apply”
In his defense, Dargani said he only tried to apply for the job but was not accepted.
“I tried to look for Mr. Ong’s opportunity at that time with their company because I’m not Chinese and I don’t communicate well with Mr. Yang. Mr. Ong informed me that I could not work with said office. I tried to apply there, â€Dargani said.
He added, “I assumed I was working there, but apparently I wasn’t, so I immediately took that out. I have never worked for the government.
Hontiveros and Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Richard Gardon did not accept Dargani’s explanation.
“Did you assume you worked in the government?” No, it wasn’t a mistake, â€Gordon said.
Hontiveros said people wouldn’t mistakenly put an ID on their LinkedIn profile, which she described as an “electronic business card,” that’s not true.
“Tayong mga Pilipino, Hindi tayo maglalagay ng presidential anything to eat [LinkedIn profile] kung hindi too, “she said. (We Filipinos will not put anything presidential on our LinkedIn profile that is not true.)
” I was mistaken. I did not extend the meeting, â€argued Dargani.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8IFFT5_fJU
In a previous hearing, senators found out that Yang had acted as a financier and guarantor of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, which has secured the biggest contracts for pandemic supplies from the government at 10 billion pesos so far. His name first appeared in the Senate inquiry after a 2017 video showed him introducing Pharmally officials to Duterte in the city of Davao.
The government awarded pandemic contracts to Pharmally when the company is only several months old and only has P 625,000 in paid-up capital.
Duterte and Malaca̱ang have denied that Yang influenced the awarding of contracts to Pharmally. РRappler.com
Read more stories from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on September 21, 2021:
