Manila Bulletin
Philippines
Sotto, senators hope 'reports are true' that PRRD is scouting for new DOH chief
Philippines
Sotto, senators hope 'reports are true' that PRRD is scouting for new DOH chief
Sotto, senators hope 'reports are true' that PRRD is scouting for new DOH chief
Published May 25, 2020 12:00 am
By Hannah Torregoza
Senators are hopeful that reports are true that President Duterte is already scouting for a new Department of Health (DOH) secretary.
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III (Ali Vicoy / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he hopes the President would be able to pick one who has no business interest.
“I hope he picks one with health expertise and no business interests,” Sotto said.
“Sana totoo. Ang mahirap kasi sa Malacañang, hindi natin alam ang tunay na pakay dahil kalimitan pabago-bago ang sinasabi (I hope its true. The problem with Malacanang is we don’t know what’s the real score because they frequently change pronouncements),” Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said, in a separate statement.
“Kung totoo nga, ang masasabi ko (If its true, all I can say is its) better late than never,” Pangilinan stressed.
Pangilinan said he hopes that whoever will take over Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s position will be able to lead the government’s task force against COVID-19 effectively than his predecessor.
“Ang papalit kung sakali man hindi dapat pinupulitika at nababahiran ng pangungurakot o overpricing ang mga programang pang kalusugan at kaligtasan ng taumbayan sa gitna ng pandemya, (I hope whoever will take over should not be politicized and one who is not involved in any corruption or overpricing of health programs for the safety of our people in the midst of this pandemic),” Pangilinan stressed.
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson also welcomed the report saying “there are at least 170,000 licensed physicians in the country who can be more competent and honest” than Duque. “They are all my candidates for replacement,” Lacson stressed.
Lacson also said Duque should consider taking the initiative to quit his post “as an act of sacrifice.”
“More than saving the President from the burden that may bear upon him if and when he decides to replace Sec. Duque, I would like to think that we all deserve a better chance to live even under strict quarantine conditions,” Lacson said.
“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 (by COVID-19). Those people who did not even have the chance to be tested so they can be treated properly and not die in vain deserve an equal opportunity to be attended to by our health authorities,” Lacson said.
Lacson said that due to the inability by DOH to cover as many Filipinos who also deserve to be tested but were left to their own devices due to the absence of contact tracing and other shortcomings, “the rest of us (have) become more vulnerable and exposed to the virus without even knowing it.”
“Worse, our tax money is apparently being taken advantage of by greed and callousness under the present leadership of the DOH,” Lacson pointed out.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros also said the government should decide soon on Duque’s fate.
“The government should decide soon because while it is difficult to change horses midstream, it is equally difficult for the health bureaucracy to be left hanging on the fate of its leader,” Hontiveros said, also in a statement.
Hontiveros further said the President should choose someone “who can inspire and rally people behind the government’s efforts against the virus.”
“But the problem is bigger than the current health secretary. There is institutional and systems failure that goes beyond one person. The drastic and urgent overhaul and improvement called for by the Universal Healthcare Law and other health laws should immediately be put into action to allow us to more effectively respond to COVID-19,” she stressed.
“Beyond sacrificial lambs, collective political leadership is required to shepherd our nation out of this crisis,” added the lawmaker.
Duque has repeatedly earned flak after the DOH failed to conduct contact tracing and expanded testing for COVID-19, bringing the number of cases to more than 14,000 and the number of deaths to 868.
Senators were also disappointed over Duque when he claimed the Philippines is already in its “second wave” of COVID infection. Lawmakers also castigated him and PhilHealth officials over the alleged overpriced COVID-19 testing packages.
Last April, 14 senators signed the resolution calling for Duque’s resignation over his “failure of leadership” in the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III (Ali Vicoy / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he hopes the President would be able to pick one who has no business interest.
“I hope he picks one with health expertise and no business interests,” Sotto said.
“Sana totoo. Ang mahirap kasi sa Malacañang, hindi natin alam ang tunay na pakay dahil kalimitan pabago-bago ang sinasabi (I hope its true. The problem with Malacanang is we don’t know what’s the real score because they frequently change pronouncements),” Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said, in a separate statement.
“Kung totoo nga, ang masasabi ko (If its true, all I can say is its) better late than never,” Pangilinan stressed.
Pangilinan said he hopes that whoever will take over Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s position will be able to lead the government’s task force against COVID-19 effectively than his predecessor.
“Ang papalit kung sakali man hindi dapat pinupulitika at nababahiran ng pangungurakot o overpricing ang mga programang pang kalusugan at kaligtasan ng taumbayan sa gitna ng pandemya, (I hope whoever will take over should not be politicized and one who is not involved in any corruption or overpricing of health programs for the safety of our people in the midst of this pandemic),” Pangilinan stressed.
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson also welcomed the report saying “there are at least 170,000 licensed physicians in the country who can be more competent and honest” than Duque. “They are all my candidates for replacement,” Lacson stressed.
Lacson also said Duque should consider taking the initiative to quit his post “as an act of sacrifice.”
“More than saving the President from the burden that may bear upon him if and when he decides to replace Sec. Duque, I would like to think that we all deserve a better chance to live even under strict quarantine conditions,” Lacson said.
“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 (by COVID-19). Those people who did not even have the chance to be tested so they can be treated properly and not die in vain deserve an equal opportunity to be attended to by our health authorities,” Lacson said.
Lacson said that due to the inability by DOH to cover as many Filipinos who also deserve to be tested but were left to their own devices due to the absence of contact tracing and other shortcomings, “the rest of us (have) become more vulnerable and exposed to the virus without even knowing it.”
“Worse, our tax money is apparently being taken advantage of by greed and callousness under the present leadership of the DOH,” Lacson pointed out.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros also said the government should decide soon on Duque’s fate.
“The government should decide soon because while it is difficult to change horses midstream, it is equally difficult for the health bureaucracy to be left hanging on the fate of its leader,” Hontiveros said, also in a statement.
Hontiveros further said the President should choose someone “who can inspire and rally people behind the government’s efforts against the virus.”
“But the problem is bigger than the current health secretary. There is institutional and systems failure that goes beyond one person. The drastic and urgent overhaul and improvement called for by the Universal Healthcare Law and other health laws should immediately be put into action to allow us to more effectively respond to COVID-19,” she stressed.
“Beyond sacrificial lambs, collective political leadership is required to shepherd our nation out of this crisis,” added the lawmaker.
Duque has repeatedly earned flak after the DOH failed to conduct contact tracing and expanded testing for COVID-19, bringing the number of cases to more than 14,000 and the number of deaths to 868.
Senators were also disappointed over Duque when he claimed the Philippines is already in its “second wave” of COVID infection. Lawmakers also castigated him and PhilHealth officials over the alleged overpriced COVID-19 testing packages.
Last April, 14 senators signed the resolution calling for Duque’s resignation over his “failure of leadership” in the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.