Duterte confident Duque can answer allegations before Ombudsman – Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed confidence that Secretary Francisco Duque III will be able to respond to the allegations of irregularities in the Department of Health’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, Malacañang said Thursday.

"Kampante naman po ang Presidente na masasagot po ni Secretary Duque lahat po 'yang mga alegasyon sa Ombudsman," Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said in a televised briefing.

Roque also said the President “has time and again expressed his continuing trust and confidence” in Duque, whose leadership at the DOH has been beset by a string of controversies including the awarding of supply contracts with a company owned by his family.

Duque and other DOH officials are facing an investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman on the supposed lapses and irregularities in the DOH’s COVID-19 response.

Covered by the investigation were the purchase of COVID-19 test kits, delayed procurement of personal protective equipment and other medical gears for healthcare workers, alleged lapses that led to the death of medical workers, and the rising number of deaths and infected medical frontliners.

The Ombudsman also included the inaction in the release of financial assistance to fallen and infected medical frontliners and the confusing and delayed reporting of COVID-19 related deaths and confirmed cases.

Roque said the investigation will not affect the credibility of the DOH and the government’s COVID-19 task force at this point since the health officials are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The DOH on Wednesday welcomed the probe and assured the public that it has been transparent in its response to the pandemic, including procurement transactions and the provision of benefits to healthcare workers. --KBK, GMA News