SENATE Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday warned Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation’s Iluminada Sebial that her license might be revoked, should she fail to submit the firm’s financial documents and continue to dodge inquiries in the next Senate hearing.
Drilon’s threat came after he observed that Sebial suddenly changed her narrative during the resumption of Blue Ribbon Committee’s probe.
In the previous Senate session, Sebial claimed that she only had the list of the corporation’s donations and did not manage to delve on further source documents, contrary to what she said during the latest hearing.
“Pinalitan mo na yung kwento mo. Hindi ka nakaka-illuminate, Iluminada, you are not illuminating at all because you are changing your answer after being coached by somebody. Last time, you said you did not see anything, you were just given a list. I’m telling you, be careful because you are under oath,” Drilon said.
When asked what kind of documents she has examined to arrive at the Pharmally’s cost of sales, Sebial said she can no longer recall without any basis or documents at hand.
Surprised to hear that Sebial has no financial records, Drilon emphasized that as a professional auditor who has certified Pharmally’s financial statement herself, she should have somehow secured a copy.
“You should have in your possession, at the very least, duplicate copies to show that indeed the cost of the sales of 7.4 is roughly 7 billion, 9 million. I’m asking you now, submit to the Senate the supporting documents which you should have examined and which you should have in your possession showing payments to the suppliers,” the senator stated.
Sebial also failed to provide a concrete answer when asked how much was the dollar deposits of the firm to generate P63 million foreign exchange gains in a matter of 2 years.
The Pharmally auditor still insisted that she has no idea about the company’s dollar deposits as all records are stored in the company’s office.
Drilon and the Committee’s chair Senator Richard Gordon admitted that as much as they do not want to, they would be forced to cite Sebial in contempt and have her license as an accountant revoked if she fails to submit the supplemental documents for the next hearing.
“If you don’t do that, I am telling you, I will recommend to the committee that we file a complaint against you in the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) for inexcusable negligence in the performance of your duties,” Drilon remarked.
Drilon told Gordon that there exists a “fraud” in Pharmally’s financial statements hence, the strong appeal for the provision of documents.
“I may again ask them to deliver and that is why, I’m already threatening them and I want to make sure that that threat is good. If they do not show, we put them under arrest, all of them. We [will] put them in a proper detention area,” Gordon said, supporting Drilon.
The Committee chair, moreover, urged Sebial to tell the truth to protect herself and her practice rather than leave them with no choice but nullify her license.
“Magsabi na kayo ng totoo. Ilalaglag kayo ng mga ‘yan e. You’re just parang… panakip lang kayo sa kanilang mga ginagawang kabuktutan. Kung hindi niyo pa nakikita ‘yan, nakakaawa naman po kayo. Ayaw naman namin kayong ipahamak. E ‘yong mga ‘yan kaya naman [nila] kung ano yung gagawin nila,” Gordon said.
Drilon backed Gordon and said that despite knowing that Sebial is allegedly lying based on his sense as an experienced lawyer, he would still give her a chance to cooperate on the next session.
“Just tell us the truth because we have remedies under the law to make a person tell the truth,” Drilon said.
Sebial vowed to submit all supplemental documents to the Committee for the next hearing on September 24.
The investigation seeks to scrutinize Pharmally’s P8.6 billion-worth of contract with the government for its procurement of supplies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Drilon warns to have Pharmally auditor’s license revoked over allegedly evasive answers revoked
Source: Bullet News Viral
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