Senator Richard Gordon wants a hold departure order (HDO) issued against former Budget Undersecretary Christopher Lloyd Lao after he allegedly attempted to leave the country amid the Senate probe into the procurement of overpriced pandemic-related supplies.
In an interview with Dobol B TV, Gordon mentioned an information relayed to him by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, claiming Lao has already secured a visa and was supposed to leave the country.
“Ang report paalis na raw talaga. Mayroon ng visa sa ibang bansa,” Gordon said.
“So, sabi ko kaninang madaling araw, kahit doon sa text ko kay Senate President [Vicente Sotto III], tulad ng sinabi ko na we may have to anticipate this. So, baka kailangan ng hold departure order para dito sa mga parties involved dahil pagka nakaalis yan e wala na,” he added.
(The report we got is Lao was about to leave the country. He has already secured his visa to travel to another country. When I learned about it, I texted Senate President Sotto and told him that we may have to anticipate this. Maybe we need a hold departure order for the parties involved because our investigation will be futile if they managed to escape the country.)
He said Sotto has agreed to his suggestion.
“Sabi ni Sotto “Okay. Good” sabi niyang ganoon,” Gordon said.
(Sotto said “Okay. Good.)
The Senate blue ribbon chairman further disclosed that Senator Panfilo Lacson even wanted to bring Lao to the Senate.
GMA News Online asked Sotto about the issuance of a hold departure order against Lao and other personalities allegedly involved in the procurement of overpriced PPEs. He has yet to respond as of posting time.
The Senate blue ribbon is currently looking into the transactions entered into by the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (DBM-PS) with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation.
Pharmally is a small firm which only had a paid-up capital worth around P625,000 but secured billions worth of government contracts for the procurement of the said overpriced PPEs.
Lao was the head of the DBM-PS when the government transacted with Pharmally.
The senators are also investigating the possible links of Chinese businessman Michael Yang, President Rodrigo Duterte’s former economic adviser, to the officials of Pharmally.
GMA News Online sought Lao’s side on the possible hold departure order move, but has not responded.—LDF, GMA News
Gordon wants hold departure order vs. Lao after alleged attempt to leave country
Source: Pinoy Hub News
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