Press Release
October 28, 2021

Hontiveros bares connection of tax-evading COVID-19 response supplier to PRRD

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday bared the connection of Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG), one of the suppliers for the country's COVID-19 response, to President Duterte. XCMG did not pay income taxes in the Philippines despite being awarded a contract worth P1.67 billion for medical supplies.

During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Hontiveros presented photos of XCMG chairman Wang Min and President Duterte, who were together in Malacanang in February 2017. The images were found on a Chinese language website that published their meeting.

"'Yung mainit na tinanggap noong 2017 sa Malacanang, tax evader pala ngayon. Bakit ba ang mga kumpanyang nagresponde sa pandemya sa Pilipinas, puro nanlalabag ng batas? Hindi tuloy malayong maisip na kaya ang daming kaso ng COVID-19 sa atin dahil sa mga kaduda-dudang medical suppliers," Hontiveros said.

According to the Chinese website, Wang Min, along with the XCMG delegation, had a "successful visit" in the Philippines, and that on the afternoon of February 27, President Duterte "cordially received" Wang Min.

Senator Frank Drilon had revealed that XCMG is not registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Bureau of Customs (BOC). In the previous Blue Ribbon committee hearing, Robin Han, XCMG's representative in the Philippines, also said that the company only secured clearance from PS-DBM, which then handled its clearance with the BOC.

"Paulit-ulit natin sinasabi sa hearing na hindi porke't may emergency ay wala nang susunurin na proseso. Hindi rin dapat na nabibigyan lang ng kontrata ang mga kumpanyang malakas sa Presidente. Dahil close sa opisyal ng gobyerno, sila na ang papaboran? Hindi pwede yun. Contracts should be given based on merit and capacity," Hontiveros said.

"Balik na naman tayo sa tanong kung bakit hindi nagsagawa ng due diligence. Sa Pharmally, may mga executives na pugante pala, pero binigyan parin ng bilyon-bilyong kontrata. Itong XCMG, tax evader pala, binigyan din ng kontrata. It does make us wonder whether, on the part of PS-DBM, this is pure negligence or deliberate obstruction. Kapabayaan lang nga ba o talagang may planong pangungupit?" Hontiveros concluded.

***Please see attached presentation in pdf format

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