THE chairman of the House committee on good government and public

accountability on Monday assured the public that unlike in the Senate,

there’s no ulterior motive behind the House inquiry into the alleged

overpricing of medical supplies procured by the government for

coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) response in 2020.

DIWA Party-list Rep. Michael Edgar Aglipay said his committee’s

mandate is to investigate public officials involved in corruption and

it “must be done swiftly, expeditiously, and without any fanfare.”

“It should not be for media mileage and never in aid of election or

reelection. Trabaho lang po,” Aglipay said, as he took a swipe at the

Senate investigation on the billions of pesos worth of medical

supplies bought by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget

and Management (PS-DBM) from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.

Aglipay also addressed critics who claim that his committee’s

investigation on the same issue is out to defend President Rodrigo

“Rody” Roa Duterte and his administration, saying he’s “independent

from all politics.”

“I am for the people. I am pro-Filipino. Hindi po ako pro- or

anti-government. This is the essence of democracy where all sides are

allowed to speak, and in doing so we will only speak on the topic at

hand,” Aglipay said.

“Hindi naman namin kayo nililigaw because if public officials do that,

then they obviously have political agenda,” he added.

The panel chief also dismissed the Senate probe as mere politicking

“in aid of election, not in aid of legislation,” considering that

Commission on Audit Chairman Michael Aguinaldo himself declared during

the previous hearing that there were no findings of overpricing in the

COVID-19 supplies procured by PS-DBM during the onset of the pandemic

last year.

Aglipay noted that the Senate, particularly its Blue Ribbon Committee,

has always held highly publicized hearings “six to eight months before

the next presidential elections.”

“It’s like clockwork to topple the frontliner in the next elections,”

Aglipay said. “In 2010, Senator Manny Villar was the frontrunner, and

they did this hearing with alleged double insertion on the C5

extension.”

He added: “In 2016, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee also did this to

former Vice President Jejomar Binay for his alleged hacienda in

Batangas. Now, they are doing this again with the alleged overpricing

of equipment purchased from Pharmally.”

“I dare say that in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings, we see

and hear at least four potential presidential or vice presidential

candidates who savor every minute they can get from free TV coverage

and publicity,” Aglipay pointed out.

Aglipay called on fellow lawmakers “not to waste the Filipino people’s

time” and “not distract Cabinet officials from the true task at hand,

and that is to continue fighting the virus.”

“Let us not waste taxpayers’ money by holding more hearings. Let us

not make use of these hearings to further political ambition,” Aglipay

said.