EDITORIAL - A new twist

The investigation into the alleged anomalies involving Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. has taken a new twist after Pharmally executive Krizle Grace Mago recanted a statement she previously made before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee.

Resurfacing after being “missing” or “unreachable” for several days, Mago now says she was pressured into saying that Pharmally swindled the government by saying they sold them out-of-date personal protective equipment.

“Regarding my previous testimonies on questions pertaining to swindling the government, I do admit it was a pressured response... Given the level of pressure I was under and the rush of emotions associated with the allegations made and my subsequent admission, I was not in the best frame of mind to think clearly,” Mago said.

Even with her recanting, the committee has decided to use her testimony anyway.

How exactly was Mago pressured into saying what she did? She was in the comfort of her own home and not in “hostile”, unknown territory. There was no one to browbeat her into saying certain things. No one was glowering at her from across the room or breathing down her neck.

Also, her behavior when she said those statements didn’t show a woman under “pressure”. Her statements were calmly said and delivered in a straightforward manner. There was no hesitancy in her words whatsoever.

Then suddenly, after a few days of being gone, she takes what she said back.

People cannot be blamed for their wild imaginings as to what happened during the days she went missing. Was she somehow confronted by powerful individuals and perhaps persuaded, coerced, or maybe even threatened to recant her statement?

There are those of us who cannot help but wonder if this is the start of a sinister campaign to whitewash the investigation. We have already seen what some officials will do, in fact what the highest official of the land seems willing to do, to protect Pharmally.

If this is just the start then the Senate Blue Ribbon committee should be on the lookout for such similar moves. The plot of this story is just starting to thicken.