Sotto: Senate’s call for Duque resignation won’t hinder additional funding for DOH in 2021

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday said their call for the resignation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III would not impede the allocation of enough funding for the Department of Health in 2021.

At the virtual Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum, Sotto said he thinks that health, the "Build, Build, Build" program, and digital infrastructure would be on top of the executive branch's budget bill for the next fiscal year as the Philippines continues to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Secretary Duque is not the DOH, he can come and go... Hindi porke sa tingin ng Senado ay hindi maganda ang ikinikilos ng Secretary ng department ay magsa-suffer ang departamento, hindi dapat," Sotto said.

"Kung kailangan ng additional funding, kung anong kailangan ninyo ibibigay namin," he added.

Last month, the DOH proposed a P182-billion budget for 2021 to effectively implement the Universal Health Care law amid a global pandemic.

Duque is currently among the health officials being investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman for alleged irregularities in the COVID-19 response of the government.

The Senate passed a resolution in April urging the Cabinet official to step down from his post for supposed failure of leadership—a call that "fell on deaf ears."

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte vouched for Duque's integrity. — RSJ, GMA News