Budget Watch

‘May naglilinis’: Pangilinan says PS-DBM deleted files earlier submitted to Senate

Aika Rey

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‘May naglilinis’: Pangilinan says PS-DBM deleted files earlier submitted to Senate

Senate of the Philippines

'Are we being hoodwinked? Are documents being withheld? Is DBM-PS involved in a cover-up?' asks Senator Kiko Pangilinan

Was somebody cleaning up for Lloyd Christopher Lao?

Senators asked this question to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) on Friday, September 24, as several files were deleted after the link to the cloud storage Google Drive had been submitted to the Senate blue ribbon committee.

The folders contained purchase orders and inspection and evaluation reports for pandemic deals made when Lao still headed PS-DBM.

At the Senate hearing, Senator Francis Pangilinan said the link sent to them contained 19 files when it was opened in the morning of September 10. In the afternoon, all of those files were gone.

“Initially we thought there was a technical glitch,” said Pangilinan.

The senator said the missing files included those pertaining to the purchase of test kits, thermo guns, and medicines.

“A total of P4.4 billion worth of purchases whose inspection reports are missing. It was no longer uploaded and somebody from your end took it down,” said Pangilinan.

The senator said some of the missing files they were able to download led to important discoveries, such as the P550 million worth of COVID-19 tests kits bought by PS-DBM that were close to expiry.

MISSING? The numbers in red are the supposed missing folders that were initially uploaded by the PS-DBM.
Senate of the Philippines

PS-DBM Director Jolas Brutas tried to offer an explanation. He said that, perhaps, it was because the staff who uploaded the file had to move these to a different folder as the folder was named “PPE sets & loose items.”

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon interjected, saying that the issue was not about mislabeled folders. Drilon raised that those responsible may be liable for infidelity in the custody of public documents, which is a criminal offense.

“What we’re looking for is the documents that were there and disappeared – whether or not it pertains to the [said] subject. It was there. Specified, and then it disappeared. Senator Pangilinan is looking for that,” he said.

Brutas, who seem to have no knowledge whatsoever of what happened to the files, again offered his earlier hypothesis.

An incensed Pangilinan responded: “I suggest that the sergeant-at-arms try and find out: Are we being hoodwinked? Are documents being withheld? Is there a cover-up? Is DBM-PS involved in a cover-up?”

Full set of documents ‘missing’

Lawyer Queenie Evangelista of the Senate blue ribbon panel also contradicted Brutas’ explanation. She said that the entire set of files that were uploaded on August 26 “were missing” a week after they checked the link again.

Minutes after the issue of missing documents were brought up, Gordon said one of the files was uploaded at 4:03 pm on Friday, as the hearing was ongoing.

“That clearly shows that these people are deliberately filching with documents and are really tampering with official documents in the country and they may be prosecuted for that,” Senator Richard Gordon, the chairman of the committee, said.

Senate of the Philippines

Senators also tried to ask Brutas if new PS-DBM Executive Director Jasonmer Uayan had anything to do with the missing documents.

Brutas explained that both Uayan and himself have access to the links, but that another person is responsible for uploading the files. Uayan did not attend the hearing because he had COVID-19.

“I’ll have it investigated on who removed such documents upon submission. We will report this matter to the committee after the completion of this investigation. If there are missing documents, we undertake to submit them as soon as possible,” Brutas said.

Pangilinan said it appeared “somebody was cleaning up the mess that Lao left behind,” as he raised that more than 80 contractual employees during the time of Lao were removed. Ninety-five people were hired this year.

“You wish we could just really laugh about it, but there’s really impunity and with complete disregard of acceptable social behavior in a country that was supposed to follow the rule of law. We’ve thrown the rules of law outside the window and we’re stepping on the rights of the people in this country,” Gordon said.

Former PS-DBM head Lao and Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation are in the middle of the Senate probe into the anomalous procurement of COVID-19 supplies.

Upon questioning of the senators, a Pharmally employee admitted that the firm swindled the government, saying that she was instructed to tell warehouse staff to change the expiry dates on medical-grade face shields.

Chinese businessman Michael Yang was also dragged into the fray, having been revealed as a guarantor and financier of Pharmally. Throughout the course of the investigation, however, he kept changing his answers. – Rappler.com

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Aika Rey

Aika Rey is a business reporter for Rappler. She covered the Senate of the Philippines before fully diving into numbers and companies. Got tips? Find her on Twitter at @reyaika or shoot her an email at aika.rey@rappler.com.