Duque maintains he’s not negligent of duties in PhilHealth

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Wednesday said he was never negligent of his task as chairman of PhilHealth's board.

At a press conference in Camp Crame, Duque was asked to react on the recommendation of the Justice Department-led task force to President Rodrigo Duterte to “strongly admonish and remind” him and other ex-officio members of the PhilHealth board of the “grave consequences of action or inaction.”

Duque was not among those recommended to be charged by the task force due to the alleged irregularities within PhilHealth even though he was tagged as supposedly the “godfather” of the supposed PhilHealth mafia.

“I’ve said this, I’ll say it again, the board of PhilHealth is a collegial body. There is no one person who makes the decision. It is a consensus that is being built over policy issues,” Duque said.

“I can say, I was not negligent. I did not ignore, I did not neglect my duties and responsibilities as chairman of the board. It’s just that really the President has declared a state of public health emergency in February and I have been chair by way of executive order. I have been assigned or tasked to head the inter-agency task force,” he explained.

Duque noted that he is a part of a lot of task forces, public boards, and various committees, saying that he has a lot of things to attend to.

“It is impossible for me to attend to all of these... that’s why I rely on my undersecretaries and assistant secretaries to represent me and I always trust them to their jobs in the best possible way,” Duque said.

Duterte already approved the recommendations of the task force to file criminal and administrative charges against several PhilHealth executives in connection with alleged irregularities.

Among those who will be slapped with charges are resigned PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales, Senior Vice President (SVP) Jovita Aragona, Officer in Charge Calixto Gabuya Jr., SVP Renato Limsiaco Jr., SVP Israel Pargas, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Arnel de Jesus, and Division Chief Bobby Crisostomo.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III earlier said he was surprised that Duque was not among those recommended to be charged, but added that the Health chief is not yet off the hook since the Ombudsman may still find them responsible.

Despite issues in the PhilHealth as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, the President has maintained his full trust on Duque. — RSJ, GMA News