DAVAO CITY – Former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, a key figure in the 2020 Pharmally scandal during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, was arrested in Davao City on Wednesday.
The PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said its tracker team served an arrest warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan on September 12 at Lao’s house in Obrero, Davao City.
The graft charges stemmed from the complaint filed by former Senator Richard Gordon and Senator Risa Hontiveros before the Office of the Ombudsman over Lao’s role in facilitating about P4 billion in public funds into the Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation for the questionable purchase of medical equipment.
Sandiganbayan First Division chairperson Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega set the recommended bail at P90,000.
In August, the Office of the Ombudsman filed graft charges against Lao and former Health Secretary
Francisco Duque III over the alleged illegal fund transfer during the COVID-19 pandemic from the DOH to the Procurement Service of the DBM (PS-DBM)
The Sandiganbayan said the transfer of public funds for COVID-19 supplies was illegal and without basis.
Duque earlier told the House Committee on Appropriations that former President Rodrigo Duterte directed the transfer of the funds.
“Publicly this was made by the President in our weekly meeting or talk to the people,” Duque said when asked to confirm Duterte’s role in the transfer of funds.
Pharmally won at least P8.6 billion in government contracts for face masks and COVID-19 test kits during Lao’s term at PS-DBM.
Some senators earlier raised questions if Pharmally was favored due to its links with Duterte’s former economic adviser, Michael Yang.
For her part, Hontiveros said Lao should be prompted to reveal the identity of the mastermind behind the corruption of COVID-19 funds.
“Time to face the music, Atty. Lao. It is time for you to face the cases against you,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
She said Lao and his associates have exploited and plundered public funds while many Filipinos suffered from illness, hunger, and unemployment during the height of the pandemic.
Lao’s arrest, Hontiveros said, should serve as a lesson for those who misuse their positions of authority for nefarious purposes.
“No matter how much you hide and do magic, you cannot avoid your responsibility to the law and the people,” the senator said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Pharmally player Christopher Lao arrested in Davao.”
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