Duque to continue as health secretary: Palace
President Rodrigo Duterte has spurned the call of several senators to sack Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd, Malacanang said.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea bared that Duterte wanted Duque to “stay put” and to work harder.
“The president has made a decision for Health Secretary Duque to stay put. He also expressed his appreciation for the senators’ gesture in giving him the opportunity to weigh his options on the performance of his SOH (secretary of Health),” he said in a statement. “Secretary Duque was made aware of the sentiments of the senators and the president expects him to work even harder to set aside any doubts on his capacity and sincerity to serve the public during these difficult times,” he added.
Fifteen senators filed a resolution seeking the immediate resignation of Duque, citing his alleged “failure of leadership” that allegedly resulted in poor planning, misguided policies and delayed response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The senators claimed Duque’s negligence, lack of foresight and inefficiency also led to lack of transparency, and “misguided and flip-flopping” policies and measures that endangered the lives of frontliners and the Filipino people.
Palace Spokesman Harry Roque said Duque still enjoyed Duterte’s trust and confidence.
“We do not have any position on the resignation calls. We do not have anything to do with these initiatives seeking the resignation of the secretary of health,” he added. Duque said he would answer the allegations against him “in due time.”
“Right now, we will continue to be in the trenches with our health care workers and frontliners,” he said in a statement.
He added that the Health department was making sure that the country had “a fighting chance” against the pandemic despite “limited resources.”
“Let us work as a team, as one country fighting for the health and safety of all. I will continue to serve the country to the best of my abilities,” Duque said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd said Duque should be replaced as the country continues to struggle against the pandemic.
The other senators who pressed for Duque’s resignation were Ralph Recto, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Juan Edgardo Angara, Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Sherwin Gatchalian, Mary Grace Poe, Francis Tolentino, Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, Ronald dela Rosa, Maria Josefa Imelda Marcos, Manuel Lapid, Ramon Revilla Jr, Emmanuel Pacquiao and Panfilo Lacson.
“In a basketball game, if the captain always commits mistakes, will you not replace him?” Sotto said. Asked who should replace Duque, Lacson said, “We all agreed not to recommend any replacement. In case he quits, it is up to the president, being the appointing authority.”
Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who supports the resolution, “nominated” Gerardo Legaspi, Philippine General Hospital director, or former Health secretary Manuel Dayrit to replace Duque.
In filing Senate Resolution 362 demanding Duque’s resignation, they said the Department of Health (DoH) chief claimed that the country had “relatively low” cases of infection and in comparison to richer countries the Philippines has performed better in containing Covid-19.
“In truth, however, we are lagging behind other nations in terms of testing capacity, despite the fact that we have yet to roll out mass testing, having tested only 38,103 individuals,” the senators said.
“Due to the improper advice and manner of handling the present pandemic by our Department of Health officials, our country is foreseen to face ‘quite negative dynamics’ in the coming weeks due to the ‘inefficiency of government management’ as the Philippines has earned the lowest mark among the Asia-Pacific countries Covid-19 safety ranking based on a study that evaluated the crisis performance of 150 countries and territories,” they added.