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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Duque is a hindrance to gov't fight against COVID-19 -- Drilon

Duque is a hindrance to gov't fight against COVID-19 -- Drilon

Published May 24, 2020 03:20 pm
By Hannah L. Torregoza Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon on Sunday expressed belief that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is becoming a “burden” to the government’s campaign against the coronavirus disease or COVID-19. Senator Franklin Drilon (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) Senator Franklin Drilon
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) “Sa nakikita ko, nakakabigat si Duque sa kampanya laban sa COVID-19. Importante ang kumpyansa ng taumbayan para sumunod sa mga alituntunan ng IATF. Kung wala kang kumpyansa, paano ka susunod. (The way I see it, Duque is becoming a burden in the fight against COVID-19. The public confidence is important so they can follow the rules and regulations of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF). If they don’t have any confidence in him, how can they follow?),” Drilon said in an interview over GMANewsTV. Drilon earlier expressed his frustration anew at Duque for not exercising due diligence expected of him as Department of Health (DOH) chief and as Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth) chair. This was after Duque claimed in a Senate committee of the whole hearing last Wednesday that the Philippines is already experiencing “second wave” of the COVID-19 infection, a matter negated by some Malacanang officials themselves. Drilon lamented Duque’s pronouncement only sowed panic and fear among the people. In the same hearing, Duque also claimed asymptomatic COVID-19 patients cannot infect others, which some senators also countered citing studies released by the World Health Organization (WHO) itself. Still, Drilon said it is up to the President to decide whether or not he should remain as the DOH secretary. “Ang Pangulo ang halal na political leader, ang mga Cabinet members ay kaniyang kinatawan. Nasa Pangulo iyan at dapat tingnan ang problemang ito. (The President is elected as the political leader and the Cabinet members are his alter ego. So its up to the President to look into this problem),” Drilon reiterated.
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