President Duterte said he was willing to stand by Health Secretary Francisco Duque despite questions about how the Department of Health (DOH) handled billions of coronavirus (COVID-19) funds, even if it would cause his downfall.
Duterte made the statement after the Commission on Audit (COA) cited deficiencies amounting to P67.32 billion in the DOH's COVID-19 response funds.
In his pre-recorded public address aired Saturday morning, August 21, the President professed his unconditional support for the embattled health secretary, saying Duque did not do anything wrong.
"Do you want me to fire Duque --- Secretary? Gusto mo paalisin ko (You want me to kick him out)? Give me a reason bakit ko paalisin (why I should fire him)," he said.
"Ano ba ang nagawa niya na kasamaan? May dalawang asawa siya? Wala tayong pakialam niyan. Dagdagan mo pang isa, Secretary, para tatlo (What evil deed did he do? Does he have two wives? That has nothing to do with us. You can add another one, Secretary, so you'll have three)," he added.
President Duterte said he does not care even if his satisfaction or approval ratings go down because of his support for Duque.
"Maski mag-isa na lang ako (Even if it's only me left), I will stand for Duque even if it will bring me down," he said.
"The rating does not really matter to me. Ang gusto ko lang magtrabaho nang matino (All I want is to work efficiently) and whatever judgment you have for me, I don’t give a shit," he added.
According to Duterte, the buck will stop with him since he was the one who tapped Duque to lead the DOH.
"Hindi naman nakiusap na 'kunin mo ako.' Ako ang kumuha. So kung anong pagkakamali niya, sa akin ‘yan (He did not asked me to hire him. I asked him. So whatever mistakes he may make, those would be mine as well)," he said.
He reiterated that he will only fire people if they are involved in corruption, dereliction of duty or failure to perform a task required by law.
"Eh ngayon kung magnakaw ka diyan, puwede pa kitang ipapatay para tapos ang problema ko. (But if you steal something there, I may just ask someone to kill you to end my problems)," Duterte said.
The President said Duque was performing and that firing him just because of allegations would cause the latter a lifetime of pain. He said it would also be against his values.
"'Pag pinaalis ko ‘yan si Duque, lifetime sabihin niyan, 'Alam mo pinaalis ‘yan dahil ‘nung may corruption sa ano' (If I fire Duque, people will say for the rest of his life that he was fired because of corruption). You just imagine the injustice that you inflict on your fellow human being. Hindi ako gano’n (I'm not like that)," Duterte said.
"I can go down but with my values and my principles intact. Prinsipyo ‘yan eh (This is a matter of principle)," he added.