Leachon sees Roque, Duque hand in 'removal' from post

Dr. Tony Leachon on Thursday tagged presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as the persons behind his removal from post as adviser for the National Task Force Against COVID-19.

"Ipinakiusap ni Secretary Roque at saka Secretary Duque iyon, na ako'y tanggalin. Eh ano naman ang kasalanan ko for telling the truth? Transparent naman 'yun," he told Dobol B sa News TV in an interview.

Leachon noted the importance of accurate "real-time and granular data" in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.  "Napaka-importante 'yan. How many lives ang nawala dito, how many people ang nawalan ng trabaho at nagkaroon ng poverty?" 

"Bakit sila nag-issue ng apology noong Monday, nag-issue ang DOH ng apology for their errors in data reporting tapos tatanggalin ka ng Tuesday? Eh samantalang in-admit nilang may mali sila sa daily reporting?" he added.

Roque's response

At a televised briefing, Roque denied that he and Duque had a hand in Leachon's removal from post for his statements critical to the government's response to COVID-19.

"He (Leachon) is giving me too much credit," he said. "Pambansang laway lamang po ako. Wala akong kapangyarihang mag-compel sa kanila na mag-resign."

Roque, however, said no less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself had noticed Leachon's criticisms against the government actions on the COVID-19 problem.

"Hindi ako, hindi si Secretary Duque. Mismong si Presidente noted that you (Leachon) shouldn't be doing what you're doing," he said.

History

Leachon, meanwhile, said his removal may have something to do with their past issues about the Dengvaxia vaccine controversy.

"Every time na may gagawin ako lagi nila akong napapag-initan. May past history rin eh kasi sa Dengvaxia ginag ako ni Secretary Roque, sa hearing 'yun. You know naman our long history with the Dengvaxia thing na involved din ang ating Health Secretary," he said.

"It is a crisis time eh, sana 'yung personal interests nila, you should rise above these particular personal interests for the sake of the country," Leachon added.

On Wednesday, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Leachon was let go over his "preemptive" release of some information and for being "deaf to collegial advice."

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, on the other hand, said he regrets the departure of Leachon from the NTF.

Leachon stressed that the government has to have granular data that is reflective of what is happening on the ground and that backlogs should have been addressed a long time ago.

"Sa internal meetings, with due respect kay Secretary Galvez, three months na akong nanggagalaiti about real-time and granular data. The real-time and granular data is important because the decision of the IATF naka-anchor po sa datos na iyan," he said.

He cited as example the situation when he previously visited Cebu and found out that the DOH Region VII reports on critical care utilization rate do not match that of the actual situation.

"Ang sabi nilang [stakeholders] lahat 'puno na po kami.' Iyon na nga ang hindi ko maintindihan, nag-submit siya [DOH VII regional director] ng report apparently malayo doon sa nakita naming data na iprinesent ng private hospitals doon sa Cebu," Leachon said.

He further said he cannot turn a blind eye on the problem on COVID-19 data that's why he took to social media some of his thoughts to raise awareness among the public.

"The only way to trigger social awareness for the people ay i-post mo sa social media and hopefully the public will recognize it," Leachon said.

"Ang aking problema helping the country is just a communication that can be settled naman, why fire me? And then there's an Ombudsman case [on] the Secretary of Health, is my sin commensurate to the problem of the health agency?" he added.

DOH side

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) maintained that it has always been transparent to the public regarding COVID-19 data.

"Kung nagkakaroon man ng kakulangan at bottlenecks itong paglalahad natin ng impormasyon, ating pong ipinagbibigay alam sa ating general public para hindi sila nagkakaroon ng misdirection at misinformation... Wala naman ho talagang 100% na real-time na data kahit saan," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a separate interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

"Wala naman ho kaming mapapala kung aming lilinlangin ang tao. We have been transparent, as I said, gusto namin guided po talaga ang mga tao dito sa ating bansa kung ano talaga ang totoong impormasyon," she added.

She explained that the differences in COVID-19 information being reported by the DOH and other sources can really be expected because of the process of data gathering.

"'Yung ibang institutions kukuha sila direkta sa local government. 'Yun namang ibang institutions kumukuha po sila based on their estimate," Vergeire said.

"Kapag kumuha sila nang diretso galing sa local government magkakaroon po ng kaunting difference from the national government figures kasi nga po inaantay pa natin 'yung sa LGU pataas at iba-validate pa natin," she added.

Vergeire likewise assured the public that the DOH is partnering with private institutions, hiring additional encoders, and conducting on-site inspections to triangulate the COVID-19 data.

As of June 17, the Philippines recorded a total of 27,238 COVID-19 cases with 6,820 recoveries and 1,108 deaths. --KBK, GMA News