SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Monday reiterated his call for Francisco Duque III to quit as health secretary following a report that President Duterte is looking for a new health chief.
Lacson, one of 14 senators who want Duque out because of alleged incompetence, also said there are more than 170,000 licensed physicians in the country who can replace Duque as health secretary “who can be more competent and honest than him.”
“They are all my candidates for replacement,” he said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he hopes President Duterte “picks one with health expertise and no business interest.”
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said he hopes that “the report is true.”
“Our experience has been is that we don’t know the real score, given that Malacañang habitually says one thing first and then says the opposite in another breath. If true, then I’d say it’s better late than never,” he said.
An association of private hospitals, in an open letter to the President, also called for Duque’s replacement because of controversies surrounding the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), of which Duque is chairman.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, asked about the newspaper report, said a Cabinet member remains in office unless the person loses the trust and confidence of the Chief Executive.
“Cabinet members serve at the pleasure of the President. Habang hindi pa natatanggal, meron pa pong trust and confidence (Cabinet members serve at the pleasure of the President. While they are not yet removed, there is still trust and confidence),” he said.
The report quoted sources as saying the President is looking for a replacement for Duque who has been subject of resignation calls of several senators and other sectors. The senators, in a resolution passed last month, said they want Duque to resign because of alleged incompetence, particularly in handling government efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that has infected some 14,300 Filipinos and at least 5.2 million persons worldwide.
Duque is also being held accountable for the overpriced payment to hospitals and testing centers of COVID-19 test packages by PhilHealth. Recently, he came under fire again for his statement that the country is on the second wave of the pandemic, which he retracted the following day.
Lacson, one of the 14 senators who signed the resolution, said, “More than saving the President from the burden that may bear upon him if and when he decides to replace Secretary Duque, I would like to think that we all deserve a better chance to live even under strict quarantine conditions. Having said that, the secretary may consider taking the initiative to quit his post as an act of sacrifice, especially for the sake of those outside of the 868 dead Filipinos and 14,035 others so far confirmed by DOH as officially infected.”
During a hearing last February on the government’s preparation against COVID-19, senators lashed out at Duque for the DOH’s failure to trace all the individuals who have interacted with the Chinese couple from Wuhan, China who were infected with the virus.
The Chinese couple were the country’s first COVID-19 cases.
Pangilinan said that instance alone showed how incompetent the DOH was in handling the campaign against the virus.
“I already mentioned failure of leadership at the DOH and we’ve already seen how the DOH leadership chose to overlook the entry of Chinese nationals. No contact tracing, no adequate equipment for the medical frontliners, no systematic preparation. And controversial pro-China decisions,” Pangilinan said.
“The result is we have the highest fatality rate and the lowest recovery rate in ASEAN. We hope that the replacement will be someone with integrity who has not been tainted with corruption or overpricing of health programs, who puts the health and safety of the Filipino people as a priority amidst the pandemic. Our people are already hungry and jobless, to be victimized by corruption further would be unendurable,” he added.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the public is losing trust in the government’s response against COVID-19 each day because of Duque’s poor leadership.
But, she said, the problem goes beyond Duque. “There is an institutional and systems failure that goes beyond one person. Our health systems need a drastic and urgent overhaul and improvement for us to more effectively response to COVID-19. Beyond sacrificial lambs, collective political leadership is required to shepherd the nation out of this crisis,” she said.
Last week, Duque was grilled by Lacson and Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon for the overpriced purchases of medical equipment and services needed in the fight against COVID-19.
Lacson said an extractor machine bought by the private sector only costs P1.75 million per unit, while the government-procured machine costs P4 million per unit. He also said the government bought a swabbing system for $32 each when the private sector purchased it for half the price.
Drilon, on the other hand, said PhilHealth pays P8,150 per COVID-19 testing to hospitals and accredited private clinics, when its price only ranges between P2,500 to P4,000.
Duque has clarified that the cost of testing package to be shouldered by PhilHealth actually ranged from P2,710 to P8,150. He said if the test was not paid by the Department of Health and the test kit used was not donated, the total cost would be P8,150. PhilHealth will pay only P2,710 if the test is shouldered by the DOH and if the test kit is donated, he said. Duque said that if the procedure was not paid by the DOH but the test kit was donated, the price would be P5,450 per test.
President Duterte has ordered an investigation on the overpriced COVID-19 tests paid by PhilHealth.
The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPi), in the open letter to Duterte, expressed exasperation over the repeated controversies surrounding PhilHealth.
“Our members feel that they have enough of the promises of PhilHealth and the Department of Health, both government agencies respectively chaired and headed by Secretary Francisco T. Duque III,” said PHAPi president Rustico Jimenez in the open letter to Duterte.
Prior to the issue on overpriced COVID-19 test packages, PhilHealth was also in the spotlight last year due to the allegations of having “ghost dialysis” claims.
Jimenez said it is for this reason that the 744-strong PHAPi is asking that Duque be replaced with someone “who can deliver the goods better in addressing the health concerns of the country.”
He stressed that their call for a replacement for Duque is not aimed to malign him as they continue to hold “high regards for him.”
“He seems to be already so exhausted that there is need for a fresh blood and a fresh mind to lead the Department of Health and the PhilHealth,” said Jimenez. — With Gerard Naval and Jocelyn Montemayor
