Ito ang naging tugon ni Partido Reporma presidentiable Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson sa pag-amin ni dating Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo na siya ay naniwala sa kasinungalingan at maling impormasyon para madiin ang una sa mga alegasyong idinidikit sa kanya.
Ang pag-amin ay isiniwalat ni Arroyo sa isa sa mga pahina ng librong inilathala nito kamakailan, lamang kung saan binanggit niya na naniwala siya sa mga gawa-gawang kuwento ni Antonio Luis Marquez a.k.a. Angelo “Ador” Mawanay noong 2001, na diumano’y nag-uugnay kay Lacson sa ilang kriminalidad.
Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson thus acknowledged Thursday evening the admission of former President Gloria Arroyo that she unjustly accused him of various crimes based on false information.
Lacson, who endured a decade of harassment during the Arroyo administration, also pointed out that he has forgiven Mrs. Arroyo a long time ago.
After her 2004 “victory,” Mrs. Arroyo rewarded PhilHealth president Duque with an appointment as DOH Secretary.
Fast forward to 2020, where under new PCEO Ricardo Morales – and Duque as ex-officio chairman – PhilHealth tried to collect premiums from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), notwithstanding their classification as a special sector. This amid a flawed if not perverted implementation of its Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) for health care institutions handling COVID-19 cases, gross overpricing in its procurement of IT equipment, and the doctoring of its financial statements.
As for Sec. Duque, he has stayed too long in the DOH and PhilHealth in different capacities. He admitted in a public hearing that he has given his best but it wasn’t good enough.
More than public interest, public health is imperiled with Sec. Duque at the helm of DOH. Notwithstanding the trust and confidence reposed on him by the appointing authority, Filipinos deserve a good, competent, honest and capable DOH Secretary.
Unang una sa lahat I’d like to thank the members of the media for allowing me a quiet weekend with my family. I thought that was the best day of my life with my family because it was a quiet weekend. We heard mass and I visited the graves of my parents. It felt like Christmas in March.
For 13 months, I was a fugitive from injustice. I have been subjected to the vitriol of arrogance and hatred by my old and new detractors. I have been humiliated, unfairly eviscerated of my dignity and personal honor, even as I am humbled by an experience so surreal I never imagined could happen.
