Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III maintained on Wednesday, Feb. 2, that his agency was not involved in the purchase of supplies related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a statement, Duque said that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s recommendation to file charges against him was "unfortunate."
Duque said that the procurement of pandemic supplies was the responsibility of the Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service (PS-DBM).
“It is unfortunate that the Panel turned a blind eye to the truth that was revealed during the Senate Blue Ribbon hearing that all procurements for the country's COVID-19 response were made through the PS-DBM, the agency purposely tasked to undertake such activities,” said Duque.
“We at the DOH were not part of the activity as we were focused on the medical side of the pandemic response,” he added.
Despite this, the Health chief said that he is ready to face the charges that will be thrown at him.
“I understand that the Panel Report that was released to the media is a mere draft and will still need to undergo a process within the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Nevertheless, if the Blue Ribbon adopts the recommendation, we will wait for the action of the appropriate Tribunal,” he said.
“It is assured that we will fully cooperate with the Tribunal's process as we have nothing to hide,” he added.