MANILA, Philippines – Businesswoman Rose Nono Lin, who is linked to the controversy over the shady pandemic contractor Pharmally, filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for Quezon City 5th District representative under the Reform PH-People’s Party on Monday, October 7.
Lin avoided questions from the media during her filing.
Lin is an incorporator of a company called Pharmally Biological Incorporated. One of her incorporators is Huang Tzu Yen, who also incorporated Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation which secured over P10 billion in pandemic contracts during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. Pharmally Pharmaceutical officials have been indicted for graft.
In a company called Paili Holdings Corporation, Lin is a co-incorporator with Duterte’s former adviser Michael Yang. Yang was also Pharmally Pharmaceutical’s financier and guarantor.
Lin, her husband, Lin Weixiong — also known as Allan Lim — and Michael Yang are co-incorporators of a company called Paili Holdings Corporation. Michael Yang and Allan Lim have been tagged in the drug trade by former cop Eduardo Acierto, who’s now in hiding. Rose Lin is also the registered owner of Xionwei Technology Company, a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) during the Duterte administration.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents showed that Lin is the president of the POGO company, of which she owns 47%.
Lin is also identified as the person who “ultimately owns or controls the corporation,” based on the company’s Beneficial Ownership Declaration submitted to the SEC.
Lin Weixiong has been implicated in the illegal drug trade alongside Michael Yang, as alleged by former intelligence officer Acierto.
In late 2021, Rose became a focal point of multiple Senate blue ribbon committee hearings regarding the Pharmally scandal. Her failure to appear at a subsequent hearing in 2022 led to an order for her arrest, along with four other Pharmally executives.
Last March 2023, Lin Weixiong was reportedly at large in Dubai, according to a report by Philstar.com. Earlier this year, Rose was seen visiting Dubai with her family, as documented in a video posted on her TiktTok on January 11, 2024.
Second try
In 2022, Rose attempted to run for Quezon City 5th District representative under Lakas-CMD. However, her party dropped her in the wake of the Pharamally controversy.
Just a few weeks before the polls, Rose faced accusations of vote-buying and was subpoenaed by the Commission on Elections.
Rose was later defeated by Patrick Michael “PM” Vargas of the Duterte-led Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban.
Despite the string of controversies she faced, Rose got 72,590 votes or 35.51% of votes cast.
After losing in her bid, she maintained a public presence through a foundation named after herself. This was evident in her social media pages.
Apart from managing her foundation, she also serves as an adviser of the non-profit organization Confederate Sentinels of God in Quezon City’s 5th District.
In 2023, she attended President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address.. – with reports from Pia Ranada/Rappler.com