By Junex Doronio

MANILA — Quezon City Fifth District Representative Patrick Michael Vargas on Friday, November 29, 2024, exposed multiple discrepancies in the testimonies of Rose Nono Lin, a central figure in the Pharmally scandal, during the House of Representatives’ QuadComm hearing.

Vargas criticized Lin for allegedly lying under oath and misleading lawmakers, echoing concerns raised during her 2021 Senate testimony at the Blue Ribbon inquiry.

Lin lost to Vargas more than 30,000 votes in the previous elections in the city’s fifth district.

“Rose Lin has been lying not just to the QuadComm but also to the Senate in 2021,” Vargas said, presenting evidence that included Lin’s claim of “finding” luxury vehicles in her garage. He also pointed out inconsistencies in Lin’s statements about her relationship with her husband, WeiXiong Lin, who has been linked to criminal activities.

Lin testified that she met WeiXiong in 2009, yet a social media post from her daughter revealed a birth certificate showing the child was born in 2004 as their second child. Vargas suggested that Lin deliberately falsified this timeline to distance herself from her husband’s alleged drug-related activities in the early 2000s.

Vargas called for the Philippine Statistics Authority to provide official copies of Lin’s children’s birth certificates and requested the Ombudsman to furnish records of cases involving WeiXiong Lin, also known as Allan Lim.

He condemned Lin’s attempts to deceive authorities and emphasized her alleged role in syndicate operations involving illegal drugs, Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), and Pharmally.

“It is disheartening to know that among the highest personalities in the syndicate matrix is a Filipino,” Vargas lamented. “We will not allow yet another Alice Guo to fester in our country.”

The QuadComm—comprising the House Committees on Human Rights, Dangerous Drugs, Public Accounts, and Public Order and Safety—has recommended citing Lin in contempt for her attempts to obscure the truth. Both the Senate and the House have included her in their respective POGO matrices, which expose abuses linked to illegal activities.

The QuadComm continues its investigation into the intertwined issues of extra-judicial killings, drugs, and POGO-related offenses in aid of legislation.

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