Tag: Francisco Duque III

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On Ex-DOH Sec. Duque’s Claim that Former President Duterte Ordered Transfer of P47.6B Covid Funds to PS-DBM

Image from Presidential Communications Office

Hindi lang napakalaki kundi complicated ang implication ng pahayag ni ex-DOH Sec. Francisco Duque III lalo na sa legal na usapin.

Dapat ay linawin niya kung iniutos arbitrarily ni former President Rodrigo Duterte or he merely acted on the recommendation of DOH, PhilHealth or IATF sa pag-transfer ng P47 bilyon sa PS-DBM.

Una, may umiiral na jurisprudence (Arias vs Sandiganbayan) na kung saan inaabswelto sa criminal liability ang isang pinuno ng ahensya ng gobyerno kapag siya ay nag-apruba lamang ng rekomendasyon ng kanyang mga tauhan kahit mali pa ito.

That being said, may isinampa nang kaso ang Ombudsman in relation to the Pharmally case na inimbestigahan namin noon sa Senado. Ginawa lang ba ni Duque ito para pangdepensa sa sarili niya? Hindi naman kasi binanggit ni Duque noon ang pagdawit niya ngayon kay FPRRD.

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Hamon ni Ping kay Duque: ‘Sindikato’ ng Katiwalian sa DOH, Gibain

Hinamon ni Senador Panfilo Lacson si Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III na putulin na ang pamamayagpag ng mala-sindikatong gawain sa kagawaran gaya ng nakaugalian nang labis-labis na pag-iimbak ng gamot na kadalasang nasisira lamang.

Ang hamon ni Lacson ay Duque ay kasunod ng pagsiwalat ng mambabatas sa tinatayang P2.736 bilyong halaga ng gamot na nasira na o kaya nalalapit na sa pagkasira sa poder ng DOH, kung saan nasa P2.2 bilyon ay naitala sa 2019 lamang.

“We wasted P2.736 billion in taxpayers’ money. What’s the reason for this? Why are we overstocking? Why are we buying medicines near their expiration dates? What does this tell us? I’ve been an investigator all my life. To me, this indicates that there is probably a ‘mafia’ that is well-entrenched – can’t be uprooted,” banggit ni Lacson sa pagdinig ng Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

“Unless the leadership of the DOH will put his foot down and do something about this, we won’t see the end of this overstocking of medicines,” dagdag ni Lacson.

Read in ENGLISH: Lacson Dares DOH Chief: Put Foot Down vs ‘Mafia-like’ Irregularities
Continue reading “Hamon ni Ping kay Duque: ‘Sindikato’ ng Katiwalian sa DOH, Gibain”

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Lacson Dares DOH Chief: Put Foot Down vs ‘Mafia-like’ Irregularities

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on Wednesday challenged Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to put his foot down against the “Mafia-like” activities behind the recurring overstocking of medicines and other irregularities hounding the agency.

Lacson issued the challenge during a Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing where he cited figures showing overstocked, expired and near-expiry medicines amounting to P2.736 billion – including P2.2 billion in 2019 alone.

“We wasted P2.736 billion in taxpayers’ money. What’s the reason for this? Why are we overstocking? Why are we buying medicines near their expiration dates? What does this tell us? I’ve been an investigator all my life. To me, this indicates that there is probably a ‘mafia’ that is well-entrenched – can’t be uprooted,” he said.

“Unless the leadership of the DOH will put his foot down and do something about this, we won’t see the end of this overstocking of medicines,” he added.

Basahin sa TAGALOG: Hamon ni Ping kay Duque: ‘Sindikato’ ng Katiwalian sa DOH, Gibain
Continue reading “Lacson Dares DOH Chief: Put Foot Down vs ‘Mafia-like’ Irregularities”

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On the DOH Leadership and the Unpaid Special Risk Allowance of Health Workers

The President should start looking beyond DOH Sec. Francisco Duque III and mind the public sentiment for a change. He was elected by the people whom he has sworn to serve.

Hirap na ang ating mga health workers, na kasama sa mga Pilipinong pinangakuan ng Pangulo na pagsilbihan. Marami sa kanila ay pinagkakaitan ng Special Risk Allowance na nakapaloob sa Bayanihan Act, na Malakanyang mismo ang nakiusap sa amin sa Kongreso na ipasa.

Ang incompetence ay hindi dapat pinapalampas, lalo na sa gitna ng krisis na dulo ng pandemya.

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On the Issues Raised by COA on the DOH’s Management of COVID-19 Funds

The issue on the DOH’s management of pandemic response funds will definitely be taken up during the deliberations of the DOH’s 2022 budget, once the Senate starts the hearings before approving their budget. This is among the many other issues hounding the agency.

That said, I remember that during DOH Sec. Francisco Duque III’s confirmation hearings at the Commission on Appointments, I asked him some questions on DOH’s supply chain issues and what he intended to do to resolve those issues. He could not answer my questions satisfactorily, if at all.

Am I surprised that he did not even bother to research in spite of his obvious lack of knowledge on the importance of the supply chain in his department? What gives? It’s hubris. He only cares about his boss, the President who, for reasons only they probably know cannot and will not remove him from office in spite of repeated calls from the majority of senators and other sectors.

Sadly, the issues brought to light by the Commission on Audit report, among others, shows that he doesn’t care about the health concerns of the people who he is supposed to serve.

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