By Gian Angnged & Therese Catapang
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the government’s response has been plagued by a host of problems, including skewed priorities and issues with data transparency. A recent survey has even revealed that the Philippines ranked the lowest in terms of approval rates for government COVID-19 response among Southeast Asian nations. The government has failed to act with a sense of urgency and has remained unprepared amid the alarming health crisis, as evidenced by delays in the implementation of travel restrictions and the procurement of medical equipment, as well as a botched Pfizer vaccine deal. Consequently, coronavirus cases continue to rise at alarming rates. As of May 25, 2021, the country has logged 1,188,672 COVID-19 cases, including 48,201 active cases and 20,019 deaths.
Behind many of the decisions resulting in the worsening pandemic situation is Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. Duque has undoubtedly proven himself incompetent, criminally negligent, and lacking foresight in handling the health crisis. Time and time again, he has, along with the President, prioritized the interests of the Chinese government over the welfare of the Filipino people. With his manifold shortcomings, Duque is wholly unsuited for helming the pandemic response. He must do the Filipino people a favor and resign from his position.
From January 2020 until present, compiled are Duque’s shortcomings in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
JAN 29, 2020
Duque refuses to impose a travel ban from Mainland China despite the coronavirus scare
Around these times in Mainland China, 170 people have already died while more than 7,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed, yet Duque just dismissed the calls for a travel ban because he fears how China might take it.
“If we do this, then the concerned country – China in this case – might question why we’re not doing the same for all other countries that have reported cases of the new coronavirus,” Duques commented.
He is a chief who sacrifices public health because of irrational sentiments.
FEB 3, 2020
Duque emphasizes that the country’s healthcare system is not weak
This claim is contrary to the reality that has been happening for years. The healthcare in the country has been experiencing a shortage of human medical resources such as doctors which causes the system to function slower and less efficiently. While the private hospitals have quality services, the public ones—funded by the government and should be accessible to the underprivileged—have “less medical staff and inferior supplies”.
Indeed, even before the pandemic, the healthcare system of the Philippines has its major shortcomings, but these should not invalidate the efforts of our health workers. They have so much potential and grit to serve our nation, but even those are not enough to accommodate everyone or the majority with good services because of insufficient funds. Duque’s failure to acknowledge this problem, despite being in service for years, makes it even harder for the healthcare sector to receive more support and funding from the government.
FEB 26, 2020
Duque says no more contact tracing concerning 3 visitors who tested positive and instead focus efforts on “treatments”
Duque argued that contact tracing was not needed anymore since the 14-day incubation period for 2019-nCoV (now called COVID-19) had long passed and no other confirmed cases were being reported so far. Didn’t he consider that there might be a lot of underlying reasons as to why no new cases have been reported? One also cannot single out the possibility that the very reason for this might be because not everyone who was exposed to the virus had undergone a test.
Furthermore, while it is rational that he wants to exert efforts in the treatment level of hospitals, contract tracing is still essential to control the spread of COVID-19 given that its transmissibility is a grave concern. He might have forgotten that prevention is still better than cure.
MARCH 6, 2020
Duque says only health workers and those with respiratory illnesses should be wearing face masks
The people, especially the ordinary workers, are afraid of the virus’ threat as they commute to work every day and interact with many people. Dismissing their concerns and demands in wearing face masks is disturbing given how the virus’s transmissibility was already a concern. Nothing was sure yet at that time how one can acquire the virus since further studies are still being conducted.
For those in a position of privilege who could easily afford hospitalization fees, it is easy to be complacent with the situation back then, however, that is not the case for everyone. For the ordinary workers who are not earning enough for their families, they would be heavily burdened with hospitalization fees suppose someone from their family acquired the virus. Duque should have understood where these people are coming from.
MARCH 6, 2020
DOH’s transparency questioned as foreigners with travel history to Philippines test positive
A Taiwanese and an Australian who had travel history from the Philippines tested positive for COVID-19. This raises questions whether the DOH is transparent, given that there were only two active COVID cases at that time, a 48-year-old male Filipino with travel history to Japan and a 62-year-old male Filipino with no known travel history outside the country.
Duque has been too complacent that he did not see contract tracing as urgent. And it was almost too late since one cannot dismiss the possibility that the virus is already spreading in the country considering the international cases of individuals with travel history to the Philippines.
MARCH 11, 2020
Grave deficit in face masks forces private hospitals to use linen while DOH receives steady supply of face masks and PPEs for government health workers
Prior to Duque’s claim that the PH healthcare system is not weak, the grave deficit in face masks—a basic healthcare necessity during the COVID crisis—is another valid point that the country’s healthcare capacity is not ready for this, contrary to what Duque believes.
This concern was addressed by Duque, but only with an assurance that they will give them some only if there are extra PPEs and facemasks left from the distribution to government health workers.
MARCH 21, 2020
Duque designates PGH along with other public hospitals as end-referral centers
Designating Philippine General Hospital (PGH) along with several other public hospitals as COVID-19 referral centers in the National Capital Region is a disadvantage for the poor given that these are where poor Filipinos go to receive healthcare assistance. Many non-COVID patients were denied basic services due to the overwhelming number of COVID-19 patients. The Filipino Nurses even expressed how the situation had gotten worse as this resulted in deaths that could’ve been prevented if the circumstances were different.
While Duque, on behalf of the DOH, promised to provide support to UP-PGH and other designated referral hospitals, the reality shows how the health workers are still suffering to sustain the healthcare system.
MAY 21, 2020
Duque says asymptomatic carriers are not contagious
When Senator Nancy Binay asked how the government can trace silent spreaders or asymptomatic individuals who do not show symptoms of the viral disease, Duque tried to assure her that the World Health Organization (WHO) has “no report or evidence” showing asymptomatic carriers can be contagious. This is contrary to what the WHO exactly said. Although they stated last April 2, 2020, that “there has been no documented asymptomatic transmission,” they did not dismiss the possibility of it occurring. They even indicated on their website that asymptomatic carriers “can transmit the virus”.
Silent spreaders pose as much a threat as the symptomatic ones given they might also infect others. Duque giving out such information to the public that asymptomatic individuals are not contagious is dangerous and misleading which further questions the DOH secretary’s credibility.
JUNE 5, 2020
Duque puts blame on subordinates for delayed payment of benefits to healthcare workers
More than 30 health workers who died or acquired COVID-19 received no aid from the government in contrast to the mandate in the “Bayanihan” Act. Duque blamed his subordinates for this as he emphasizes their incompetence.
“Kasi nakakahiya talaga, Sir. Namatayan nga tapos nagpa-wardi-wardi yung mga tao ko na parang walang sense of urgency. Kaya po ang sama sama po ng loob ko, Mr. President,” Duque expressed.
In Duque’s tweet, while he expressed his disappointment towards his team, he also acknowledged that it is still his responsibility and DOH as a whole to comply with the “Bayanihan” Act. However, this is simply not the case here considering how he put the shame on his cohorts in front of the President just to put himself in a good light.
Meanwhile, a tweet from a medical student said, “If he claims that DOH has no sense of urgency, isn’t that a reflection of his poor and ineffective leadership? If you are an employee of any company and your boss is like this, won’t you feel betrayed? We don’t deserve leaders like him whose mindset is to always just please one man. Always respect your workers! #DuqueResign,” he said.
JUNE 23, 2020
Duque washes hands of delays in procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers
Not one to run out of excuses, Duque said that the Philippines was not late in ordering PPEs for healthcare workers, but other countries with higher COVID-19 cases just acted earlier: “[In February] marami na pong mga ibang bansa na nauna sa atin dahil nauna rin silang nagkaroon ng COVID-19 cases.”
Duque had previously admitted that the initial lack of PPEs resulted in medical workers dying of COVID-19. The shortage of PPEs and medical supplies also left healthcare workers with no choice but to create their own makeshift PPEs or rely on the donations of private organizations and individuals.
Furthermore, several senators have pointed out the DOH’s costly procurement of PPEs and medical supplies, noting that the supplies could have been purchased for much lower.
OCTOBER 27, 2020
Senate probe on PhilHealth finds Duque liable for negligence, says Sotto
When sought for comment on President Duterte’s claim that Duque did not steal any money from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said that Duque is liable for negligence as far as the Senate’s probe into the corruption issues surrounding PhilHealth is concerned.
“There was a violation of Article 217, under the Revised Penal Code. Perhaps they could say he did not steal any money but in the Senate committee report, the findings are clear. There are violations committed by officials of PhilHealth, including the department officials, and the secretary of health,” Sotto added.
The Senate Committee of the Whole, chaired by Sotto, had earlier recommended the filing of graft and malversation charges against Duque and several other personalities for releasing PhilHealth funds to health facilities which did not treat COVID-19 patients through the agency’s Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) policy.
Duque, who serves as PhilHealth board’s ex-officio chairman, has dismissed the findings of the Senate panel as “baseless”, saying he was implicated with the IRM fund distribution when he “was not even part of the deliberation and did not sign the resolution” which authorized it.
The Senate panel also recommended replacing Duque and appointing a new health secretary “who has a stronger will to fight corruption”.
DECEMBER 17, 2020
Senator Ping Lacson says Duque “dropped the ball” in vaccine negotiations with Pfizer
Citing information from Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, Locsin said Romualdez and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin, Jr. had been negotiating a deal to receive 10 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine “as early as July”.
Lacson said that the Philippines would have secured Pfizer vaccines as early as January 2021, but Duque “failed to work on the necessary document requirements” for the Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement (CDA) with Pfizer.
Lacson stated that Pfizer’s country representative had even followed up on the submission of the CDA to no avail. As a result, the opportunity to procure the vaccines went to Singapore.
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said Duque could be held liable for graft should it be proven that he bungled the Pfizer deal. “Failure due to corruption or incompetence in the vaccine rollout is not an option,” Pangilinan added.
Duque then denied allegations of corruption surrounding the botched Pfizer deal.
JANUARY 21, 2021
Duque admits that DOH only ‘googled’ Philippine price of Sinovac vaccine
After being grilled by Senator Ping Lacson on the list of vaccines the DOH submitted to the Senate committee on finance in 2020, Duque said that the sole basis of the Sinovac price tag was a Reuters news report the DOH found on a Google search: “Nakalagay po [sa news report], ‘Sinovac coronavirus vaccine offered by Chinese city for emergency use costs $60’. Tapos nag-compute po for VAT so mga P300 plus and another iyon pong in-assume nila na inflation, medical inflation, of about another 10%. So lumabas pong P3,629.50.”
That Sinovac rate of P3,629.50 per two doses or P1,814.75 per dose prompted calls for cost transparency once it was found that Sinovac jabs in Thailand and Indonesia cost P240.28 ($5), and P652.12 ($13.57) per dose, respectively.
Lacson chided Duque for not making an effort to validate the Sinovac price point with the Sinovac Biotech firm: “Because you know official document yun, official record, official submission and maybe this would serve as a good lesson in future submissions na dapat bago tayo mag-submit medyo accurate at saka validated yung data.”
MARCH 19, 2021
As the Philippines sees a rapid rise in coronavirus cases, Duque brandishes meter stick around Parañaque to enforce social distancing.
Amid a massive surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, Duque wielded a meter stick around Parañaque as part of the DOH’s “Bida Bastonero” campaign to tell people to maintain physical distance. Duque also distributed face masks and face shields to residents and vendors and reminded them to observe minimum health protocols. Duque drew heavy criticism from Filipinos on social media, who described his on-site activity as a “photo op” and “publicity stunt”, pointing out that it would not help solve the worsening public health crisis. The health secretary had previously caught flak for carrying out the same activity last August.
Duque also earned the ire of Senator Nancy Binay, who remarked that it was saddening and bothersome that Duque had to hand out face shields. In her words: “The solution is a lot bigger than distributing face shields or going out in public reminding them to wear their face masks.”
Former health secretary Esperanza Cabral also criticized Duque over the initiative: “You hardly see him, actually, and when you see him, you see him in inanities like he will go with a meter stick to find out whether the physical distancing rule is being complied with. Hindi ganun yun.”
MARCH 29, 2021
DOH says it has no plans for mass testing
A year ago, the DOH mentioned that it is in their plans and radar to conduct mass testing if ever resource adequacy allows it. However, in late July, there was still no mass testing in sight that furthered the public’s call for it. In reply to this, Duque mentioned that no country was ever successful in mass testing its entire population, but the public was quick to respond saying that mass testing doesn’t equate to testing the entire population of the country. As opposed to what Duque mentioned, South Korea implemented contact tracing and mass testing hand in hand without having to test everyone, and they managed to flatten the curve.
Many Filipino people never stopped echoing the call for mass testing ever since the pandemic began, but it is still nowhere in sight up until the present. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire even stated that the DOH has still no plans for mass testing given that “free testing would be a one-time event when one gets tested today, but tomorrow they might get exposed”. They are only doing risked-based testing wherein house-to-house visits will be done to test those who showed symptoms of COVID.
More than a year had passed, and no mass testing ever happened even with the evidence presented to the executive health officials that it is among the steps for COVID-19 control. This further warrants the weak health care system of the country that was aggravated by government officials like Duque who downplayed the threat of COVID-19 since the start.
APRIL 27, 2021
Duque says no travel ban yet on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) returning from India amid new B.1.617 variant
Duque said the government had not yet discussed the travel guidelines for OFWs in India, noting that the Philippine Genome Center had yet to classify the variant as a “variant of concern”.
While foreign travelers from India were banned from coming to the Philippines in light of the B.1.617 coronavirus variant, the ban exempted OFWs and ROFs (Returning Overseas Filipinos) working in India.
However, several countries, including the United States, Hong Kong, Pakistan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom had already imposed travel bans to prevent transmission.
Philippine Ambassador in New Delhi Ramon Bagatsing Jr. also stressed that the Philippines should not underestimate the India variant: “Definitely, if other countries are stopping the travel of Indians to their countries, that is something our government should seriously consider,” he said.
This wasn’t the first time Duque has exhibited a lack of urgency over decisions on crucial travel restrictions: last December 26, he said that travel bans for countries with reported cases of the United Kingdom (UK) COVID-19 variant would only be considered if the country was already at the level of community transmission.
Although the Philippines had suspended flights from the UK at the time, the UK variant had already been detected in countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia.
APRIL 27, 2021
Duque says the public can look at the one million COVID-19 cases in the Philippines through an “optimistic lens”
“The one million cases can be viewed also from a different angle, that this will sooner than later reach a million recoveries,”, Duque remarked as the country reached one million COVID-19 cases.
With no shortage of asinine remarks, the Health Secretary has also said that the COVID-19 health crisis was a “blessing in disguise” because it “accelerate[d]” universal health care”.
Last July 14, Duque also claimed that the Philippines had “successfully flattened the curve since April” amid ballooning COVID-19 cases — 57,000 at the time — and a rising death toll evidenced by the increasing occupancy rates in COVID-19 wards in hospitals.
MAY 1, 2021
Duque acknowledges PH may not achieve herd immunity this year
Given the slow vaccine rollout in the country, Duque did not single out the possibility of failing to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year. Although Secretary Carlito Galvez, the PH vaccine czar, is confident that we will reach the herd immunity target by November 30, 2021, the data says otherwise.
We were behind from the minimum target of vaccinations for the months of March and April. Although we have surpassed the minimum target for the month of May, it was not enough to make up for the backlogs of the last two months. As of the fourth week of May, we are only giving out almost 200,000 doses each day. We may be unable to vaccinate 70 million filipinos by the target date for herd immunity if we fail to ramp up the vaccination rate to 678,000 doses every day.
However, given the current circumstances, we may still be too far from going back to our normal lives, even Duque himself admitted it.
MAY 17, 2021
Duque fails to attend consecutive hearings of the House of Representatives where he was invited as a resource person
Duque has, on two occasions, sent a representative to answer the questions of lawmakers, later citing his “responsibility in leading the country’s COVID-19 response” as the basis for his continued absence.
The DOH Secretary’s absence prompted the House committee on good government and public accountability panel to threaten him with contempt if he continues to snub the said House panel’s probe into the government’s pandemic response.
Health Secretary Duque continues to mishandle the country’s pandemic response, failing to fulfill his duty despite the number of years he has worked in the country’s health sector. From downplaying the virus’s threat to blaming his subordinates, his unpreparedness, negligence, and improvidence have cost many lives and opportunities for a year and a half now. The Filipino people are tired of struggling from isolation, loss of loved ones, and injustices, all because of the collective failure of incompetent leaders such as Sec. Duque. The DOH should not serve as his training ground where he could continuously commit mistakes.
There is no point in keeping someone who has failed countless times and is continuously failing. His incompetence has subjected many Filipinos to a lot of suffering, therefore, he must resign. But what really happens when he’s removed from office? Can we guarantee that all will turn out well given that his failures as a DOH secretary are just a part of the collective failure of incompetent leaders seating in the government?
Sources:
https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-01-29-20-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.rappler.com/nation/coronavirus-scare-travel-ban-mainland-chinese-not-for-now-duque
https://borgenproject.org/healthcare-in-the-philippines/
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1237873/still-no-need-for-panic-buying-of-face-masks-says-doh
https://doh.gov.ph/doh-press-release/DOH-CONFIRMS-TWO%20MORE-CASES-OF-COVID-19-IN-PH
https://www.rappler.com/nation/grave-deficit-face-masks-forcing-some-hospitals-improvise-old-linen
https://www.bulatlat.com/2020/06/05/whats-wrong-with-secretary-duque/
https://up.edu.ph/up-pgh-is-designated-as-covid-19-referral-hospital-for-ncr/
https://www.rappler.com/nation/duque-admits-health-workers-die-lack-ppes-dishonest-patients
https://mb.com.ph/2020/10/28/senate-probe-on-philhealth-shows-duque-liable-for-negligence-sotto/
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1353361/house-panels-recommend-charges-against-duque-philhealth-execs
https://www.rappler.com/nation/senate-recommends-replacing-duque-as-health-chief
https://twitter.com/rapplerdotcom/status/1352552359038222336?s=20
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1387074/sinovac-price-tag-based-on-googled-news-article
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-vaccine-idUSKBN2710UQ
https://twitter.com/DrTonyLeachon/status/1350484419161714689?s=20
https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/3/24/Binay-Duque-resign-face-mask-shield.html
https://twitter.com/IanEsguerra/status/1377527389664649217?s=20
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1097298
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7451293/
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/03/22/2002738/testing-depends-resource-adequacy-duque
https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/27/doh-no-travel-ban-for-ofws-in-india/
https://twitter.com/HerdImmunityPH/status/1391769964806217731
https://twitter.com/HerdImmunityPH/status/1396088588501094406
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1432687/duque-threatened-with-contempt-over-house-hearing-snub
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1436568/covid-19-deaths-in-the-philippines-surpass-the-20000-mark
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