Sen. Gatchalian urges Sec. Duque: 'Go on leave while OMB probes DOH
Published Jun 18, 2020 12:00 am
By Hannah L. Torregoza
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III should consider taking a leave of absence while the Office of the Ombudsman is investigating the alleged irregularities in the Department of Health’s (DOH) COVID-19 response.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) “To make the investigation impartial, I think the best and the most appropriate thing to do is to take a leave of absence, at the very least, so that it would be an impartial investigation,” Gatchalian said in a virtual press briefing. “Because, obviously you can influence the information that the Ombudsman will request from the agency. So, I think the most appropriate thing to do is take a leave, while the investigation is ongoing,” the senator said. Ombudsman Samuel Martires said earlier he has formed a joint investigative team to look into the alleged anomalies surrounding the delayed procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other alleged lapses that led to the deaths of frontline hospital staff. The investigative team will also look into the delayed payment of benefits to the families of health workers who died or got severely ill in the line of duty, aside from the confusing and delayed reporting of coronavirus cases in the Philippines. Martires said the Ombudsman’s investigation actually started before the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was imposed on Luzon but their investigators were “given the runaround” by some DOH officials and employees who keep on referring them from one department to another. Gatchalian said he believes an impartial probe is necessary and that the DOH can still carry out its COVID-19 response actions even without Duque. He said it is the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on COVID-19 that is carrying out the bulk of the government’s COVID-19 response, from setting up isolation centers, ensuring the testing capacity, and delivery of PPEs. “The DOH is the one analyzing the epidemiology data as well as giving public health advices. But even the epidemiology data is besieged with complaints because these are delayed,” he said. “There are more instances of delayed cases than fresh cases, so in other words, the integrity of the (DOH’s) data is in question,” he lamented. The senator said he believes there are other officials within the DOH who are capable of taking over Duque’s role. “My point there is (that the) bulk of the activity is now outside of DOH, and I can see many undersecretaries who are experienced in epidemiology and public health advices,” Gatchalian stressed. Gatchalian insisted he believes Duque failed to have foresight in the midst of the pandemic. “In my view, he primarily lacked foresight. In a pandemic, it’s important to have foresight…because part of the strategy is to know what’s going to happen down the road,” he said.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) “To make the investigation impartial, I think the best and the most appropriate thing to do is to take a leave of absence, at the very least, so that it would be an impartial investigation,” Gatchalian said in a virtual press briefing. “Because, obviously you can influence the information that the Ombudsman will request from the agency. So, I think the most appropriate thing to do is take a leave, while the investigation is ongoing,” the senator said. Ombudsman Samuel Martires said earlier he has formed a joint investigative team to look into the alleged anomalies surrounding the delayed procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other alleged lapses that led to the deaths of frontline hospital staff. The investigative team will also look into the delayed payment of benefits to the families of health workers who died or got severely ill in the line of duty, aside from the confusing and delayed reporting of coronavirus cases in the Philippines. Martires said the Ombudsman’s investigation actually started before the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was imposed on Luzon but their investigators were “given the runaround” by some DOH officials and employees who keep on referring them from one department to another. Gatchalian said he believes an impartial probe is necessary and that the DOH can still carry out its COVID-19 response actions even without Duque. He said it is the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on COVID-19 that is carrying out the bulk of the government’s COVID-19 response, from setting up isolation centers, ensuring the testing capacity, and delivery of PPEs. “The DOH is the one analyzing the epidemiology data as well as giving public health advices. But even the epidemiology data is besieged with complaints because these are delayed,” he said. “There are more instances of delayed cases than fresh cases, so in other words, the integrity of the (DOH’s) data is in question,” he lamented. The senator said he believes there are other officials within the DOH who are capable of taking over Duque’s role. “My point there is (that the) bulk of the activity is now outside of DOH, and I can see many undersecretaries who are experienced in epidemiology and public health advices,” Gatchalian stressed. Gatchalian insisted he believes Duque failed to have foresight in the midst of the pandemic. “In my view, he primarily lacked foresight. In a pandemic, it’s important to have foresight…because part of the strategy is to know what’s going to happen down the road,” he said.