Pangilinan wants ex-DOH chiefs, PGH head to replace Duque in IATF

Sentor Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Saturday pushed for two former Health secretaries as well as the chief of the Philippines General Hospital to replace Health chief Francisco Duque III in the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19.

In a statement, Pangilinan reiterated his call to kick Duque out of the IATF and "nominated" three health experts - namely PGH Director Dr. Gap Legaspi, and former Health Secretaries Manuel Dayrit or Esperanza Cabral - to lead the government response to the ongoing health crisis.

"Hayaan natin ang mga mahuhusay na eksperto ang siyang mamuno ng IATF. Hindi tayo inutil.  Maraming magagaling na eksperto na mga doktor sa bansa. Kaya natin talunin ang COVID-19 basta mahusay ang in charge,” the senator said.

“Kung karera ang kampanya laban sa COVID-19, ang ibang bansa sa Asya tulad ng Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, at South Korea ay tumatakbo nang mabilis patungo sa finish line, habang ang Pilipinas gumagapang sa pagkakulelat,” he added.

In June, Pangilinan had already called for Duque's ouster, saying on Facebook: ""Si Duque ang matagal ng pinagre-resign dahil sa palpak at makupad na kilos ng administrasyong Duterte laban sa COVID pero 'yung nagkumpirma ng palpak, makupad at hilong talilong na kilos ng gobyerno ang pinag-resign." 

In April, at least 14 senators signed Senate Resolution No. 362 urging Duque to resign as Department of Health chief, for "failure of leadership" and "lack of foresight and inefficiency."

Duque, however, has repeatedly found an ally in President Rodrigo Duterte, who on several occasions expressed his support for the the Health secretary, advisinf the the embattled Duque against resigning amid the COVID-19 crisis and the controversies hounding the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). -MDM, GMA News