SC to Senate: Respond to Ong’s custody release plea

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has given Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman Sen. Richard Gordon 10 days to file their comments on the request of Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp. director Linconn Uy Ong to be released from detention.

“As per SC Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, the respondents in the petition filed by Linconn Ong were required by the Court to file their comment to the main petition and prayer for temporary restraining order (TRO),” SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said yesterday, adding that while the Chief Justice did not specifically mention the number of days, “the usual period is 10 days.”

Last Oct. 7, Ong, represented by his legal counsels Ferdinand Topacio and Donn Rico Kapunan, asked the High Court to issue a status quo ante order or to return to the order of things before the Sept. 10 contempt, arrest and detention was issued; or TRO and/or writ of preliminary injunction and to order his immediate release.

Ong, who has been under the Senate’s custody since Sept. 10, asked the SC to compel the Senate to release him since Gordon publicly announced they have already extracted the information they need and no longer need him.

Heed the call

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon urged Malacañang yesterday to heed the call of the country’s medical experts “not to obstruct” the Blue Ribbon probe on the alleged anomalous procurement of pandemic supplies from Pharmally worth P11 billion.

The company is being linked to President Duterte as one of its alleged financiers was his former economic adviser, Michael Yang.

“The whole nation is watching. I call on the executive (branch) to listen to the people and heed the call. Let’s follow the doctors’ prescription and allow an unimpeded Senate investigation into the PS-DBM (Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management) anomalous transactions,” Drilon said.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines earlier issued a statement urging Duterte to reconsider his order prohibiting Cabinet officials from attending the Senate probe.

Nurses Week

In celebration of National Nurses Week, health workers group Filipino Nurses United (FNU) trooped to the Department of Health (DOH) central office in Manila yesterday to demand “adequate COVID-responsive national health budget for nurses’ wage increase and free health services for the people.”

“To mark this year’s National Nurses’ Week, we are driving the point home once more – the Philippine government must give our frontliners the compensation and care they deserve,” FNU president Maristela Abenojar said.

Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire yesterday assured that hospitals in the country are capable of handling individuals who have “long COVID,” following recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Our current or existing hospital system can very well manage this ‘long COVID’ symptom,” Vergeire said.

Recently, the WHO identified “long COVID” among infected individuals still experiencing symptoms three months from the start of infection.   – Paolo Romero, Sheila Crisostomo