Press Release
September 8, 2021

Dispatch from Crame No. 1142:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima on Plunder and Kleptocracy in the President's official family

All the President's men are trying hard to control the fallout from the Pharmally scandal. They continue to provide excuses and attack Sen. Gordon and the Blue-Ribbon Committee for doing their job. But still, they cannot explain why billions were awarded to Duterte's and Michael Yang's chummies at Pharmally.

At the same time, Duterte continues to hide his SALN from the people. That SALN could be hiding billions by now, but we cannot know because Duterte's appointed Ombudsman cares more about protecting corrupt public officials than the public coffers.

Duterte can never gain any credibility in his defense of the Pharmally scandal until and unless he publicly discloses his SALN. As long as he hides his SALN, he cannot prove to the public that the billions awarded to his Chinese cronies did not also find their way into his bank accounts.

The chain of corruption in the Pharmally scandal is not rocket science. Billions were awarded to Duterte's cronies. Assuming even that the PPEs purchased were not overpriced, the fact that a firm close to the President has bagged the contracts already creates a presumption of undue favors given to Pharmally.

This is similar to Sen. Bong Go's family also getting billions in government contracts. Apparently, plunder and Kleptocracy run in the President's official family, and the Senate and COA are the only institutions still making it hard for them in getting away with their plundered loot.

Paano pa kaya nakakatulog ang mga mandarambong na ito sa gitna ng pagnakaw nila sa pondong panlaban sana sa pandemya, habang patuloy na nagugutom at namamatay ang mga Pilipino? Wala na talagang sasama pa sa mga taong ito!

(Access the handwritten version, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatchno1142)

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