PRESIDENT RODRIGO Duterte on Tuesday said he would never direct embattled Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to step down from post amid calls for the latter’s resignation due to the Department of Health’s (DOH) supposed deficiencies in the handling of pandemic funds.
Duterte, however, said he would accept if Duque will decide to step down.
“Kung si (If) Duque will offer to resign voluntarily, tatanggapin ko. Pero kung sabihin mo ako ang magsabi sa kaniya na ‘mag-resign ka’ ((I will accept that. But if you would tell me that I should tell him to resign), that will never happen,” he said in his pre-recorded Talk to the People.
For now, Duterte said he has no plan to heed the public’s clamor for Duque’s “outright” dismissal.
“Maski kaming dalawa na lang ni Duque sa (If I and Duque will be left alone in) the rest of the Philippines, I will stand by him. ‘Pag masira ako, wala (I don’t care if I will lose the public’s trust). But I will never abandon the person just like that,” Duterte said.
He reiterated that there is no basis to fire Duque.
“Gusto nila, si Duque, fire him, dismiss him. For what? Noon pa iyan, ilang buwan na iyan, gusto nila alisin si Duque. Sabi ko nga, wala naman akong nakita (It’s been months since they have been calling for Duque’s resignation. I don’t see any reason [for his dismissal]),” he said. “You have to observe fairness. Ako, fair lang talaga ako (I am just being fair).”
He, however, said he would not hesitate to fire Duque if the latter will commit corruption.
“Pero ‘pag may nakita ako ng mali sa kanya, maski sampung libo lang o singko mil, talagang sabi ko yayariin kita kasi ipahamak mo ako sa tao eh. Nilagay kita diyan tapos sisirain mo ako by committing… (But if I find something with him, even just PHP10,000 or PHP5,000, I will really do something because you will destroy my reputation. I put you there and then you destroy me by committing…),” he said.
Duterte said Duque has come under fire after being “painted black” because of the Commission of Audit’s (COA) audit report on DOH’s spending of funds allotted for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic response in 2020.
While he is not blaming COA, Duterte expressed dismay that its audit report has tainted Duque’s reputation.
“The damage has already been done. Kasi nga, paglabas ng COA report, flagged, flagged, flagged (COA released a report that flagged [DOH]. Ang perception talaga ng tao (the public’s perception), the popular notion is that you are flagged because there’s corruption,” he said.
He said COA should include in its findings “a sort of preamble” clarifying the audit report found no corruption.
“Ang akin lang is the presentation. Dapat diyan (My only concern is the presentation. It should be) in your findings there should be a sort of a preamble that this is an audit report tapos wala kaming nakita (that we found nothing), there is no corruption, there is no loss of funds, tapos bago ninyo i-summarize lahat. Para ang mga tao magbasa (before you summarize everything. So that the people who read) is put on notice that he is reading something other than corruption and malpractices,” he said.
Duterte said he does not mind receiving backlash after his decision to keep Duque as Health secretary.
“Kaya may nagsasabi na makakasira daw sa akin iyang si Duque (Some are saying Duque would ruin my reputation). Then, so be it,” he said. “Hindi ko kaya ‘yung kinuha ko si Duque, nilagay ko diyan tapos ngayon, ‘yung COA, iba-iba ang findings, napinturahan siya ng itim, ako ang kumuha tapos (I could not stomach the fact that I appointed him and after the COA released its findings that painted him black) I will just fire him.”
Critics have renewed their calls for resignation, after the COA flagged the DOH’s supposed failure to handle the PHP67.32 billion in Covid-19 response funds.
The COA later clarified that the observed deficiencies in the management of pandemic funds are not tantamount to the commission of corrupt activities.
On Aug. 19, Duque said Duterte had asked him to stay after his several attempts to vacate his post. (Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos)
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