Rose Nono Lin denies link to Pharmally

PHARMALLY Biological and Pharmaceutical Co. is not a sister company of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., which is the subject of an investigation in the House of Representatives. Rose Nono Lin, owner of the defunct Pharmally Biological, made the clarification during her recent appearance before the quad committee, saying she is neither an official nor a shareholder of the company. She said Pharmally Biological was separate and different from Pharmally Pharmaceutical. Nono Lin made a similar clarification before the Senate blue ribbon committee in 2021 when it investigated the P8 billion contract won by Pharmally Pharmaceutical to provide medical supplies to the government's Covid-19 response efforts despite the firm having only P625,000 in paid-up capital. "I am just an ordinary citizen and businesswoman making a living [by] legal and fair means. All the accusations against me and my family are purely hearsay," she told the blue ribbon panel. Documents showed that Nono-Lin's husband, Lin Wei Xiong, a Hong Kong national, is the financial manager of Pharmally Pharmaceutical and a close associate of former presidential adviser Michael Yang, who provided the financing to the firm. Nono Lin's lawyers pointed out, though, that documents did not prove that Pharmally Biological and Pharmally Pharmaceutical were sister companies or that Lin was an official or shareholder of the latter or had a contract with the government. While it was acknowledged that Lin's husband and Yang were partners in some activities, the lawyer said it did not prove anything. "All these are speculations. She is not an officer [of Pharmally Pharmaceutical] nor involved in the operation or implementation of the contract," the lawyer said.