Health workers alliance demands Duque's resignation

The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) representing health frontliners from different hospitals in Metro Manila on Saturday called for the resignation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III due to his  "shortcomings" in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

AHW National President Robert Mendoza said that though the country had been dealing with the pandemic for nearly five months, the government and the Department of Health (DOH) had yet to produce clear and comprehensive plans against the illness.

“As we bravely fight the virulent disease, let us not allow the government authorities especially the DOH to abandon their primordial duty to ensure health workers’ safety and well-being," Mendoza said in a statement.

"We demand Secretary Duque’s resignation and hold him accountable for his neglect, incompetence, shortcomings, and failure in dealing with [the] health crisis especially in COVID-19 response," he added.

According to the AHW, quarantine protocols were not strictly implemented in hospitals such as the Philippine Heart Center, the Tondo Medical Center, and the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center.

Further, health workers who were exposed were required to work despite not completing their mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Some medical frontliners have also experienced psychological distress, occupational burnout, stigma, long hours of duty, fatigue as well as harassment. Due to this, some have opted to resign.

“[W]e fear that many health workers will be resigning from their posts... because they do not see concrete and comprehensive measures from DOH and government authorities to protect their safety and lives," Mendoza said.

"Due to our deep concern, we wrote to the DOH last May 28, 2020 to address the plight of our fellow health workers... But, sad to say, the DOH Secretary seems to have been deaf and blind to address the grievances’ of health workers," he added.

Health workers also called for the following:

• Free mandatory testing in both private and public hospitals ever 2 weeks
• Free and proper transportation and accommodation
• No to understaffing; regularize all contractual health care workers
• Immediate release of the Performance-Based Bonus of 2018 and 2019
• COVID-19 positive health workers must receive COVID-10 benefit worth P100,000
• Health workers must receive P500 daily as COVID-19 hazard pay
• Distribution of personal protective equipment to hospital workers.
• Legislate National Minimum Wage P16, 000 monthly for Salary Grade 1 and 750 per day for the private sector.
• Increase Health Budget to 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday emphasized that the DOH had implemented several measures to address the COVID-19 threat.

“Nagbigay na po ang DOH ng concrete and comprehensive measures upang tugunan ang pandemyang hinaharap natin… This is focused on a four-point implementation strategy: that of preventing, detecting, isolating, and treating,” she said in a briefing.

Vergeire cited as examples the expansion of testing capacity, the participation of the Philippines in global trials for potential COVID-19 cures, and the delivery of protective gear and death and sickness benefits to health workers.

“Araw araw po ay sinisikap ng DOH na gampanan ang tungkulin namin… Ngayon ay mas nakikita po natin ang halaga ng collaboration at pakikipagtulungan ng mga eksperto sa iba’t ibang larangan,” Vergeire added.

Several senators have called for Duque to resign in April due to "his failure of leadership, negligence, lack of foresight, and inefficiency in the performance of his mandate."

Though the matter was settled after President Rodrigo Duterte decided that Duque would stay on at the helm of the DOH, talks of his resignation were revived in the Senate after his "second wave" blunder.  —with a report from Julia Ornedo/DVM/KG, GMA News