Duterte’s trust in Duque remains despite Pfizer vaccine issue —Palace

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III continues to enjoy the trust and confidence of President Rodrigo Duterte despite allegations he cost the Philippines’ early access to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Malacañang said Monday.

Speaking at a news conference in Davao City, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the President only wanted Duque to respond to accusations that he “dropped the ball” by not acting quickly in signing the Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement (CDA) with Pfizer.

“All members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the President po. Sa ngayon po patuloy pa rin ang pagtitiwala ni Presidente kay Secretary Duque,” Roque said.

Duterte has also defended Duque against allegations of corruption and incompetence.

Roque’s response comes after Senator Manny Pacquiao, an ally of the President, asked Duterte to replace Duque, arguing that there are other capable individuals for the job.

Pacquiao also urged Duque to resign so as not to further tarnish Duterte’s name in the fight against COVID-19.

Duque, in his defense, said that if ever he was at fault, it was because he chose to “err on the side of caution,” saying that he wanted to know more about Pfizer’s vaccine but the absence of a CDA or confidentiality disclosure agreement kept the pharmaceutical firm from disclosing data.

Carlito Galvez Jr., the government’s vaccine czar, insisted that the Philippines did not miss an opportunity to secure doses of COVID-19 vaccines, noting “negotiations on many occasions will reach stalemate and gridlock when legal challenges, public interest and safety are at stake.”

“No ‘bus’ was missed or no ‘ball’ was dropped because we are focused on our main goal, and that is, to secure an equitable share of the vaccines,” Galvez said in a statement on Saturday.

Galvez also said the CDA is “just one of the many phases of the negotiations.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said over the weekend that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would try his best to get back even just a fraction of the 10 million doses which were supposed to be delivered to the Philippines in January.

The Philippines is also trying to secure supply deals with other vaccine manufacturers. —KBK, GMA News