MANILA (UPDATE) - President Rodrigo Duterte is liable for letting his appointees get away with alleged anomalous government deals with pharmaceutical firm Pharmally, Senator Richard Gordon said Monday as he urged his colleagues to sign his committee's report on the issue.

The Gordon-led Senate Blue Ribbon committee, in its draft report, had criticized Duterte for intervening in their investigation and for his failure to go after those being tagged in the alleged anomalies.

• 'Public funds plundered': Senate committee seeks raps vs Duque, Pharmally execs

"Kung pinabayaan niya ang kaniyang tungkulin, hindi niya pinahuli ang mga taong nakikita nang gumagawa ng katiwalian. Siya ang nag-appoint at nakikita niya ang kaniyang kaibigan ay talagang kumukuha ng sandamakmak na salapi, 'di niya sinasabihan ang (anti-) money laundering (council) hulihin niyo na yan," Gordon told ANC's Headstart.

(If he let go of his responsibilities, he did not apprehend those he could see are corrupt. He was the one who appointed them and he could see his friends are getting a lot of money, but he did not order the Anti-Money Laundering Council to apprehend them.)

"Di niya sinasabi sa NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) hulihin niyo si (former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher) Lao, ay meron siyang kasalanan."

(He did not order the NBI to arrest Lao, therefore he has committed an offense.)

The Senate committee had recommended plunder and graft charges against Lao, former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang, and Overall Deputy Ombudsman Warren Liong, a former director at the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (PS-DBM), among others.

Lao was PS-DBM chief when Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. won P8.6 billion in government contracts for face masks and COVID-19 test kits even though it was only incorporated in 2019 and had a capital of about P625,000.

Duterte earlier said Lao was a fraternity brother and a member of his campaign team before being appointed to government. The President said Lao also assisted his office with legal matters when he was still mayor of Davao City.

• Duterte cites 'utang na loob' to ex-DBM exec facing Senate probe

The President had also said Yang, a Davao-based Chinese businessman, often accompanied former Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua in their meetings and introduced him to acquaintances in China.

• Appointment of one Pharmally exec meant to ensure Michael Yang gets paid: firm's chair

Yang earlier said he only introduced "friends" to Pharmally executives to aid in the pandemic supply deals with PS-DBM.

Duterte said the deals with Pharmally were above board, although he told senators they could "crumple" the company.

• Duterte tells Senate: You can crumple Pharmally, I don't care

Eight senators have so far signed the committee report, according to Gordon, including him, Senators Manny Pacquiao, Franklin Drilon, Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, Risa Hontiveros, Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, and Leila de Lima.

When asked if he would be willing to remove the committee's recommendations against the President, Gordon said, "Let the axe fall where it may."

"What kind of a Blue Ribbon (committee) would you have if you're not going to make hard decisions? Can anybody in this country na nanood, nagbasa, sinabi ko na from the very beginning--kaibigan niya sila Lao, (Former economic adviser Michael) Yang, minura niya kami, pati nanay ko - can anybody think he doesn’t know anything about it?" he said.

(Can anybody in this country who watched the hearings, read about it, I said it from the very beginning--he's friends with Lao, Yang, he cursed me and even my mother - can anybody think he doesn't know anything about it?)

"Can anybody think he’s not hiding anything? Mag-isip naman tayo. 'Wag niyo na 'ko kampihan. 'Pag binasa niyo, maiisip niyo ba talagang walang involvement ang executive dito?"

(Let's think. You don't have to side with me. If you read the report, can you really say the executive branch has no involvement here?)

While he said he cannot comment yet on the committee report pending its adoption by the Senate, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, Duterte's acting spokesman, reiterated in an interview last Feb. 2 the instructions of the president to file appropriate charges against those found to have supposedly committed violations.

"Wala siyang pinuproteksiyunan dito ‘no, at kung sino man ang dapat kasuhan eh kasuhan na ninyo," Nograles said in an interview on ANC's Headstart.

Gordon said members of the committee should "at least sign" to indicate whether to amend the report.

"I am not surprised, let’s put it that way. There’s no room for happiness or disappointment, it is a deliberative body," he said.

"We will never be a respectable country unless we can stand up and say this is the decision. There are many decisions that circumstantial evidence, when directly connected, is as a good as direct evidence," said Gordon, a lawyer.

He added, "Nakikiusap ako para madebate. Kung ayaw nila, yung Dengvaxia 'di nga ako umabot eh."

(I'm pleading so we can debate on this. If they don't want it, I did not even reach this point during the Dengvaxia investigation.)

When asked whether he's concerned about the upcoming elections, during which he is running again as Senator, Gordon said "Being the senator is not an end-all be-all, but I'm going to win. I'm winning right now, I'm number 8 (in the surveys)."

"Kung matalo ako, tanggap ko 'yan. Volunteer ako ng Red Cross for 48 years now. Wala akong suweldo d'yan, happy ako d'yan," he said.

(If I lose, I'll accept it. I've been a volunteer of Red Cross for 48 years now. I have no salary, but I'm happy there.)

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv