WE ARE sorry for missing this page in yesterday’s “On-Line” edition. We had a transaction in an office in downtown Davao City. Unfortunately, we finished our transaction way past noon. By the time we reached home, we had no more time to write this column, much more meet the prescribed deadline for inclusion in the opinion page.
*******************************
The appointment of former Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla as the new Ombudsman is met with mixed reactions. There are those who are vocal in saying that his appointment by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is a step closer to the intention of the administration to silence the most vicious of critics, like Vice President Sara Duterte and her rabid supporters.
Moreover, there are those who are strongly against Remulla’s appointment by the President because the new Ombudsman is alleged to execute the administration plan to deter possible filing of formal graft charges against suspected corrupt officials who are close to the tenant in Malacanang.
In other words, those corrupt officials who will finally be charged with graft and corrupt practices in the Ombudsman would be assured of their non-conviction under a Remulla-led anti-graft agency. Or so, that is what the critics of Remulla’s appointment and the leading graft buster said.
On the other hand, there are also some people who believe that the former Justice Secretary is worthy of his new title. They see in Remulla the willingness to explore even dangerous water just so the truth will be out. And such a characteristic includes “humanizing” the interpretation and application of the law, if only to assure the citizenry that it is not only for those who can afford the shrewdest lawyers to protect their interests, but to the common man as well.
Of course, it is only the new Ombudsman who can prove right or wrong any of the two groups having diverse views on his choice by the President for the position of Ombudsman.
But no matter what he does will not bode well for either of the groups backing or opposing his appointment.
*************************
With the assumption of the Ombudsman post of Remulla comes this “resurrection” of one personality who once dominated every investigation episode conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee during his time as Senator of the Republic. The guy has been silent for years after his defeat in the 2022 senatorial derby.
We mean former senator, now full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) Richard “Dick” Gordon, who was chair of the Blue Ribbon during the last three years of the Duterte administration.
He presided over the probe of the P47 billion deal of the national government during Duterte’s incumbency that had something to do with the bulk purchase of supplies for the Department of Health (DOH), the lead agency that battled the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in the death of thousands of Filipinos.
Allegations have it that the supplier firm, lowly capitalized Pharmally Corp., was reportedly owned by Chinese nationals known close to then President Duterte’s Economic Adviser, Davao businessman Michel Yang. Most, if not all, items purchased under the deal were overpriced by as much as one hundred percent.
During the first few Senate Blue Ribbon probes presided over by then Senator Gordon, those personalities allegedly with participation in the government deal ignored the invitation of Gordon’s committee, allegedly on the instruction of the former President.
In the later hearings, the personalities specifically invited finally appeared. The Duterte adviser, however, purported not to understand the Filipino or English language.
Meanwhile, one of the Pharmally officials attempted to fly out of the country through the backdoor route. Unfortunately for the guy, he was apprehended, of all places, at the Davao City International Airport.
Another personality believed to be involved in the multi-billion-peso transactions was put under the custody of the Pasay City jail after he was cited in contempt by the Gordon committee.
He went scot-free after the end of the 18th Congress with only some “insignificant” charges against him still pending in court.
Now the “resurrected” Gordon wants Ombudsman Remulla to revisit and conduct a new probe into the P47 billion Pharmally deal of the Duterte administration.
Will the former Senator and Blue Ribbon Committee chair be able to convince Ombudsman Remulla to reopen the alleged highly anomalous Pharmally transaction?
And should Remulla be convinced, will it not strengthen the suspicion that his appointment is indeed primed at running after the former President and those whom he has left behind here in the Philippines, led by VP Sara Duterte?
Our wait for answers may not take long anymore.
