Health Secretary Francisco Duque III admitted Monday he could not sleep at night after he was linked in the alleged corruption surrounding PhilHealth, particularly in the illegal release of the state insurer’s billions of funds.
Duque shared his frustrations and struggles during President Rodrigo Duterte’s televised talk aired Monday.
“Actually nakakatawa ho, I have to express my frustrations. Eh’ yung mga pumirma hindi sila ni-recommend for filing of the cases. ‘Yung hindi pumirma, ‘yun lang ang idinawit. Bakit naman gano’n?” the DOH chief said, referring to the Senate Committee of the Whole report, which recommended to file malversation and graft and corruption charges against him and other PhilHealth officials for the alleged anomalous release of PhilHealth funds through the agency’s Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM).
“Height of injustice, unfairness, and masakit po ‘yun. ‘Yung hindi ka pumirma, ikaw pa ‘yung idinadawit, ipinipilit na idawit. ‘Yun lang, Sir, ang hindi ko matanggap sa dibdib ko, ‘di ho ako nakakatulog ho dahil dito, Sir,” Duque confessed to Duterte.
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Duque denies involvement in alleged PhilHealth corruption
Duque said the Senate Committee of the Whole report findings were “baseless.”
“The Senate committee made baseless findings on mere allegations alone. I was impleaded on the IRM (interim reimbursement mechanism) when I was not even part of the deliberation and did not sign the said resolution,” Duque said in the House hearing.
“Ni anino nung aking pirma ay hindi makita,” the health secretary added.
“This is not the best time for the Executive to have a difference with the Legislative branch, but two weeks ago I went to the Senate to shed light on the issues based on my personal knowledge,” Duque said.
“As I have previously stated, I will cooperate with any inquiry on the matter by the concerned government agencies. Certainly, I intend to clear my name,” he added.
However, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who led the chamber’s investigation, had insisted the DOH chief should be held accountable for the PhilHealth IRM fund anomalies under Article 217 (Malversation) of the Revised Penal Code.