Senate sends Pharmally execs to Pasay City Jail

The Office of Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) today, November 29, 2021, transferred the custody of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. (Pharmally) executives Mohit Dargani and Linconn Ong to the Pasay City Jail after the detainees failed to provide the documents needed in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged anomalies in the purchase of medical supplies to address COVID-19.

Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Rene Samonte said both Dargani and Ong, who were detained at the OSAA detention facility, were brought to the Pasay City Jail around 2:00 p.m. after Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Richard Gordon signed the commitment order directing their transfer.

Dargani's sister Twinkle, who claims to be experiencing a mental health strain because of the hearing, stayed under the Senate custody.

Before they were brought to the Pasay City Jail, officers of the Senate Medical and Dental Bureau (MDB) checked the vital signs of Dargani and Ong to ensure their health and mental well-being and they both took the antigen test as precaution to COVID-19.

A psychiatric doctor requested by the Darganis also appeared in the Senate to conduct an initial evaluation on Twinkle's mental health condition.

The mother of the Dargani siblings and Lawyer Roy Kapunan, counsel of the three Pharmally executives went to the Senate around 12 noon to check on detainees' condition before Mohit and Ong were transported to their new holding area. Samonte said Kapunan escorted both Mohit and Ong to their new detention facility.

"Upon arriving in the Pasay City Jail, the Pharmally executives were subjected to some administrative processes supervised by the Pasay City Jail Warden. Dargani and Ong will remain under the custody of Pasay City Jail until they properly answer the questions of the senators and submit the documents pertaining to the company's financial statements that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee had earlier subpoenaed," Samonte said. ####