‘I am resigned to the fact that it will only be by end June 2022 that we may very well have a new Health Secretary, one who will have the unenviable task of undoing the damage that has been done to the country over the last 16 months.’
SIXTEEN months after the COVOD-19 virus was officially acknowledged to be a problem in the Philippines, the Secretary of Health, Dr. Francisco Duque III, remains at the helm of the Department of Health.
He has proven to be a survivor.
Since March or April last year I have been posing comments and questions on Facebook as to why Duque was not being shown the door. As early as February of 2020, it was clear — at least to me — that he may not be up to the demands of addressing a pandemic; proof to me was when he confidently told the world that “we have enough test kits and PPEs” — a statement soon proven to be woefully (and fatally) without basis.
How many died as a result of such misplaced confidence, only God knows.
Then, when someone tested positive for the virus in Greenhills, he was quick to assure the nation that there has not been any community spread. That was when I asked whether that individual (who I think passed away later on) was hit by an “immaculate infection.”
How many others died as a result of that “there is no community spread” comment, only God knows.
When people began clamoring for a travel ban on flights to and from Mainland China, the good secretary was quick to shoot down the idea. To be fair, he seems to have been parroting the point of view of the President — but heck, what does the President know about viruses and pandemics and all? As Health Secretary he should have known better and should have had the guts to tell the President that a travel ban was the right thing to do. But he refused. Soon, three tourists from the mainland visiting the Visayas were down with COVID, with only the female tourist able to return to China alive.
How many others died as a result of his slow action on the travel ban, only God knows.
Almost a year into the deadly virus, we find out that documents for the importation of Pfizer were left unacted upon in his office — in sharp contrast to, say, Israel, whose government took swift action to secure doses for their countrymen even at higher prices, arguing that paying a premium for the first doses was worth it compared to the economic cost of a lockdown. And so when countries were scrambling for vaccine supply, we still had no signed, sealed and delivered agreements with any of the major vaccine manufacturers in the world, except China.
How many died because the vaccines have come so late, only God knows.
The President, rightly or wrongly, did not name Duque to head the vaccination campaign.
Or the testing campaign. Or the tracing campaign. Maybe we saved lives there. And yet, for reasons only the President knows, Duque has remained safely ensconced in the Office of the Secretary — even in the face, mind you, of sentiment among some of his fellow Cabinet members and of the Senate that he should be let go.
His colleagues during the GMA years tell me that they knew a different, far more capable Duque. And that even they are surprised at how different things are today.
It is a fact that some people are made of sterner stuff. Some can make promises and then tell you later they were just joking, when others would be deathly embarrassed to be proven unable to deliver on a promise. Some can wilt under the pressure of emergency situations while others, like the flight crew of Philippine Airlines Flight 434 that suffered a bomb explosion on the way to Tokyo in December of 1994, can find it within themselves to rise to the occasion and thus save lives.
Maybe the good Secretary is one who thrives under normal circumstances. But these have not been normal circumstances.
Yet the Secretary is still head of the Department of Health.
Which brings me to next year’s presidential elections.
I would love to ask of those proposing themselves as candidates for the presidency this one question: who will you name as Health Secretary?
Anyone who will keep the incumbent at the helm will not only not have my vote, he or she will even encourage me to actively campaign for someone else.
We do not have a shortage of doctors — licensed ones at that. But to be Health Secretary you need to be more than just an MD — you should also have the knack for administrative work. And have the sterner stuff as well, one that hopefully helps you do well under normal circumstances and thrive under stressful ones.
I am resigned to the fact that it will only be by end June 2022 that we may very well have a new Health Secretary, one who will have the unenviable task of undoing the damage that has been done to the country over the last 16 months. You and I know that there is more than enough reason to ask the incumbent to go.
Why hasn’t this happened?
Well, maybe not even God knows!
