Lacson hopes Ombudsman probe on Duque, other DOH execs will 'bear fruit'

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday said he is hoping the Ombudsman's motu proprio investigation on Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and other health officials over issues connected to the Department of Health's response to the COVID-19 pandemic will "bear fruit."

"About time. I can only hope that this time around, the investigation will bear fruit and find those concerned liable and suffer the consequences of their misdeeds in taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis for self-aggrandizement," Lacson said in a message.

Lacson, who has linked Duque to irregularities long before the COVID-19 pandemic, said he expects the investigation to not end up like the agricultural smuggling case he filed against former Bureau of Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon over alleged release of smuggled rice.

The senator said the 2017 case "continues to languish in the dustbin of the Ombudsman for an unusually long period of time."

Last April, Lacson was among the senators sought the resignation of Duque for alleged "failure of leadership."

On Wednesday, Ombudsman Samuel Martires ordered the probe on the "irregularities and anomalies" allegedly committed by DOH officials amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Duque welcomed the investigation and assured that all the documents needed are ready. --KBK, GMA News