Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Tuesday said lawmakers should respect President Duterte’s decision to keep Health Secretary Francisco Duque III despite the allegations of corruption made against the Cabinet official.
(OFFICE OF SEN. BONG GO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Go said that while he agrees with most of the recommendations stated in the Senate Committee of the Whole report on the anomalies in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), he does not agree with the panel’s recommendation to fire Duque.
“I leave it to the President to judge as the sole appointing authority, if there is a need to make changes in his Cabinet,” Go told reporters when sought to comment.
“As I have explained in the Senate session last week, this is my only reservation upon signing the Committee Report.
Health Secretary Duque still has the trust and confidence of the President and we must respect that,” the senator stressed.
According to Go, the Department of Health (DOH) chief has been planning to submit his resignation to the President.
“Sa totoo lang po, nangingiyak na po si Secretary Duque at gusto na talagang bumitaw. Ginagawa naman po ng DOH ang lahat ng kanilang makakaya para magampanan ang kanilang mandato lalo na sa panahon ngayon na mayroong health crisis tayong hinaharap (Truth is, Secretary Duque is emotional and he really wants to resign. The DOH is doing their best to perform their mandate especially during this time we are facing a serious health crisis),” said the senator.
Go, a close ally of the President, said he prefers to wait for the results of the investigation of the task force led by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the issues surrounding PhilHealth’s Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) fund and other anomalies hounding the agency.
But if the task force finds sufficient evidence to prove the DOH chief is involved in the corruption allegations in PhilHealth, the senator said Duque “has to go.”
“According to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, the Task Force will submit its findings to President Rodrigo Duterte ‘by September 14’ at pag napatunayang may corruption, wala na pong dapat pag-usapan pa diyan (and if corruption is proven, then we have no choice),” the Senate health committee chief said.
“He has to go — at kung sino po yung sangkot sa corruption, kailangan pong umalis, kailangang managot, at kailangang makulong (and those who are involved in corruption, they need to be removed, prosecuted and be put to jail),” the senator said.
The lawmaker said the findings and recommendations found in the Senate committee report would help the Task Force created by the President to accomplish its task to investigate, audit, conduct lifestyle checks, recommend suspensions or dismissals, prosecute and file charges, and put in jail those who are found guilty of corruption.
Duterte earlier reiterated this is not the time for Duque to resign from his post, despite the Senate committee report that recommended the filing of criminal cases against him and several PhilHealth officials over the allegedly questionable release of billions of funds under the IRM policy.