By ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA Manila – Former Department of Health (DOH) secretary Francisco Duque III said his statement regarding former President Rodrigo Duterte’s authorized P47.6-billion worth of COVID-19 funds transfer was taken out of context.
According to Duque, the transfer of funds to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) for the procurement of common-use supplies and equipment (CSEs) such as face masks, face shields, and PPEs was above-board given the urgency and novelty of the situation.
“What has been lost in the political noise is the fact that these CSEs were procured sometime in April 2020, during the very beginning of the pandemic,” Duque said. “Their procurement was not only necessary, but was of extreme urgency.”
“Indeed, the directive of President Duterte was consistent with and pursuant to the national policy embodied in the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act 1 and 2,” the former DOH secretary added.
Duque also said Duterte’s authorization for the transfer was not new as it was well-documented in his public pronouncements.
“President Duterte has been consistent and open in directing his administration, as a whole, to act swiftly and decisively and do all that it can to fight the pandemic,” Duque said.
“His directives were openly made and repeated during our numerous cabinet meetings, his regular televised public address, and in various interviews reported by news outlets,” he added.
The purchase of the COVID-19 supplies was being investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly marred by corruption, with Pharmally accused of being a preferred contractor.
Government officials, including former President Duterte, had defended the transaction, saying there was a need to fast-track procurement because of the COVID-19 emergency and that the controversial firm had delivered on the contracts./PN
