Palace: Let Duque do his job amid COVID-19 emergency

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III should be allowed to perform his job of addressing the threat of COVID-19 in the country, Malacañang said Friday, amid mounting criticism over the Cabinet official’s handling of the public health emergency.

“Secretary Duque serves at the pleasure of the appointing authority, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in this challenging time,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

Roque added Duque “will answer allegations in the proper forum but for now let us allow him to do his job during this global health emergency.”

Duque faced criticism again this week after claiming that the Philippines was already on its second wave of COVID-19 infections, considering the first three imported cases as the first wave.

He clarified on Thursday that the country is still on the “first major wave of sustained community transmission.”

Reacting to Duque’s move to backtrack on his earlier statement, Senator Joel Villanueva said the Health chief’s pronouncements have become “unreliable and incredible.”

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Duque should “get his facts right and his messaging straight” as wrong information can put to a bad light all the efforts being done by the coronavirus task force and possibly sow confusion with the public.

Last month, several senators sought Duque’s resignation, accusing him of failure of leadership in handling the pandemic.

Duque resisted calls to quit his post while Malacañang said Duterte wanted Duque to stay put.  — RSJ, GMA News