CA upholds dismissal of PS-DBM official over Pharmally case
The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the administrative liability of Warren Rex Liong, former official of the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), in connection with the P4.4-billion alleged anomalous contracts for COVID-19 supplies cornered by Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. in 2020.
In a decision dated April 8, the appellate court’s Third Division rejected the petition for review sought by Liong last year after the Office of the Ombudsman found him guilty of grave misconduct and serious dishonesty and ordered his dismissal and perpetual disqualification from public service due to his involvement in the controversy.
The dismissal of Liong’s petition meant that his penalties, including perpetual disqualification from public office, remain in effect.
‘Substantial evidence’
According to the appellate court, Liong did not deny his participation as a PS-DBM official in the awarding of the P4.4-billion contracts for personal protective equipment and common-use supplies and equipment, including face masks and surgical gowns, at the height of the pandemic.
The appellate court said it found “substantial evidence” that backed the Ombudsman’s findings that Liong committed “flagrant disregard” of procurement laws when he oversaw the bidding processes. Among his supposed questionable actions were reviewing and signing market surveys that showed there were other suppliers with far cheaper price offers than Pharmally; signing documents that declared Pharmally as “technically, legally and financially capable” of being a supplier despite insufficient records and noncompliance with eligibility requirements; and recommending the approval of technical evaluation reports that contained false information regarding Pharmally’s license to operate.
Liong was the PS-DBM procurement group director before he was appointed by then President Rodrigo Duterte as Overall Deputy Ombudsman in November 2020 with a seven-year term.
In his defense, Liong had argued that the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan I) exempted from the regular procurement processes the bidding for COVID-19 supplies.
The Court of Appeals, however, said that Liong “cannot hide behind his own interpretation of Bayanihan I, especially since his avowed awareness of it runs counter to the Constitution and the basic tenets of fairness and accountability.”
‘Grossly undercapitalized’
“Pharmally is a grossly undercapitalized corporation, with less than a year in juridical existence, which, for the flimsy reason that Bayanihan I sanctioned the PS-DBM’s exercise of absolute and full discretion, had been awarded billion-peso contracts, in utter disregard of the requirement that ‘only reliable and adequately capitalized suppliers are chosen,’’ Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas Jr. wrote in the 36-page decision.
He pointed out that PS-DBM failed to scrutinize Pharmally’s net financial contracting capacity and its Philippine Government Procurement System certification, which “reveal[ed] its inexperience.”
“It must be emphasized that the transactions that were investigated and found to be anomalous involved contracts for billions of pesos that came from the national treasury yet they were awarded to a grossly undercapitalized and inexperienced supplier like Pharmally.” he said.
