Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao said that he would replace Francisco Duque III as Department of Health secretary.
“Maraming mga capable pa, pagbigyan natin ng chance kasi dalawang beses na siyang nabigyan ng chance sa DOH. Siguro naman quota na siya sa kaniyang dapat ipakita as chair sa DOH. Nakita naman natin kung masaya ba ang mga tao o hindi,” Pacquiao said at a media briefing in Cainta, Rizal.
(Many others are capable, we should give them a chance because Duque already had his twice. He had an opportunity to show what he could do in DOH. We already saw if the people are happy or not with his performance.)
“Maraming mga bata pa, maraming fresh pa ‘yung mind nila at gustong magserbisyo sa bayan nang tapat, na walang bahid ng korupsyon,” he added.
(There are young minds out there, with a fresh perspective and willing to serve the government without any trace of corruption.)
According to Pacquiao, Duque’s performance rating for the COVID-19 pandemic is “failed.”
“Hindi naman natin na-anticipate ‘yung COVID, napakahirap talaga. Para sa akin, bagsak ang rating, kasi panghuli tayo (We did not anticipate the spread of COVID, it is really a hard time. But for me, Duque failed the people),” he said.
Pacquiao to replace Duque if elected as president
In 2021, several health workers and senators called for Duque’s resignation due to alleged corruption and neglect concerning the country’s COVID-19 response.
However, President Rodrigo Duterte said he has no plans to accept the resignation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque.
In his Talk to the People, Duterte said that Duque has twice tried to resign.
According to the President, Duque is doing nothing, and if there are any missing funds in the DOH, complainants should go to the Supreme Court and file a lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs chief Teddy Locsin Jr. blamed Duque for “dropping the ball” not just once but twice. First was the supposed 10 million Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines on January 2021. The second was in the 50 million syringes offer from the US for 2022.
Duque remains the Health Secretary chief amid controversies. However, he said he would stay as long as Duterte wanted.
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