MANILA – Senator Panfilo Lacson has renewed his call for the firing of Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque just as the latter was defended anew by President Rodrigo Duterte from bashers.
In a series of social media posts yesterday, Lacson disagreed that the government should let Duque off the hook as he was the reason for the entry of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.
“No, sir. The COVID-19 importers are the virus-infected couple from Wuhan, China who spread the virus in Manila because your Secretary Duque miserably failed to do a simple contact tracing,” Lacson said.
He added that the health workers’ call for a two-week enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila merely aims to tell the Department of Health that the country is “not moving towards the right direction.”
“If nothing is wrong with the rudder, maybe the ship captain needs immediate replacement,” he said. “Having said that, I couldn’t understand what ‘amulet’ or magic potion Duque has as far as the President is concerned.”
“It is not only me who disagrees with the President for not firing Secretary Duque. There were 14 senators who had earlier asked him to resign. I don’t think that number has changed,” the senator further said.
During his address to the public on Sunday evening, Duterte defended Duque from critics anew as he said that the Health secretary has been doing his best during this COVID-19 pandemic.
“Okay, you want me to fire Duque? Let me be satisfied. Anong kasalanan ng tao? He did not import COVID,” the President said. “He was there all the time and ang infection was overwhelming not only for the Philippines. I do not want to compare it with any country but it was a global thing.”/PN
