Palace defends BCDA Dizon’s appointment to head COVID-19 testing efforts

Malacañang on Tuesday defended the appointment of Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) chief Vince Dizon as lead implementer of efforts to ramp up the country’s COVID-19 testing capacity. 

Dizon, who is also the deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, was recently designated as chief coordinator of the public-private Task Force T3 (Test, Trace and Treat).

In a televised briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque praised Dizon for being “honest, competent and a logistics expert.”

Roque also said President Rodrigo Duterte trusts Dizon, who vowed to bring the number of COVID-19 testing laboratories to 78 and daily tests to at least 30,000 by the end of May.

“Siya po talaga ang kailangan natin dahil very crucial po ang testing. Kung hindi po natin mai-implement ang widespread and massive testing, hindi po natin malalaman kung saan ang kalaban,” the Palace official said.

“At buung-buo po ang tiwala ni Pangulo kay Secretary Vince Dizon, ganoon din po ang aking pagtiwala sa kaniya; ako po ang president ng Vince Dizon Fans Club.”

A former consultant to Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Dizon holds a master’s degree in applied development studies from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.  He also taught economics at the De La Salle University. —LDF, GMA News