SC voids arrest of Pharmally execs

The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the Senate had committed grave abuse of discretion when it cited in contempt and ordered the arrest of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. executives Lincoln Ong and Michael Yang Hong Ming.

- DAPHNE GALVEZ

In 2021, the Senate, led by then Blue Ribbon committee chairman Richard Gordon, cited Ong and Yang in contempt for allegedly giving false and evasive answers during the upper chamber’s hearing on Sept. 10, 2021 regarding Pharmally’s contract with the government in its purchase of COVID-19 medical supplies.

In his petition before the SC, Ong argued that the Senate illegally encroached upon the exclusive constitutional domain of the judiciary when it found him guilty of giving false testimony, adding that the Senate proceeded against Ong “under an erroneous concept and gravely abusive exercise of contempt power.”

Meanwhile, in Yang’s petition, he argued that the Senate committed grave abuse of power when it issued arrest orders despite a lack of legal basis and compelled him to answer questions and submit documents and information that were beyond the scope of the legislative inquiry and in violation of his rights to privacy.