Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Thursday, August 19, that he was not convinced with Health Secretary Francisco Duque III's explanations on the issues in his department's in handling COVID-19 response funds.
"No I'm not," Sotto said in a text message sent to reporters.
"For one, he blames others and never their lack of responsibility," he observed.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Wednesday, August 18, quizzed the Department of Health (DOH) about the delayed release of health workers' benefits and its reported deficiencies in spending over P67.3 billion of coronavirus response funds.
During the hearing, Duque and other DOH officials had pointed at private hospitals, as well as the Department of Budget and Management, for the problem in the special risk allowances (SRAs) and other benefits due for health workers.
They maintained that they were being diligent and had released the funds. Several hospital and health workers groups, on the other hand, had complained not receiving their allowances from the DOH.
Sotto said he would prefer to wait for the Senate panel's next hearing as "many other issues" have not yet been taken up and are still unexplained.
For him, the panel should further delve into the alleged overpricing of face masks and face shields that the DOH had purchased, thru the DBM's Procurement Service.
The Senate chief had suspected irregularities in the procurement, especially as Duque previously insisted that the mandatory face shield policy should remain.
"Kaya pala ayaw alisin ang paggamit ng face shields (That's why they are refusing to scrap the use of face shields)," Sotto tweeted on Wednesday.