Senator Panfilo Lacson said Monday there are more than 170,000 health experts who could replace DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III should the administration looks for another amid COVID-19 crisis.
“There are at least 170,000 licensed physicians in the country who can be more competent and honest than him. They are all my candidates for replacement,” Lacson said in a text message.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III also said he hopes President Rodrigo Duterte would pick “one with health expertise and no business interests.”
Sources meanwhile said Duterte is reportedly looking for a new Cabinet member to replace Duque.
“I understand the President is now looking around for somebody to replace Duque,” a source told The STAR.
“It is hard to change horses midstream, so the President should not take long to act on it,” the source said.
“We hope the President will not take long to give Duque the way out. He has to go,” a Duterte Cabinet member, who asked not to be named, said.
Also read: Philhealth defends ‘overpriced’ COVID-19 test kit package
Many claimed Duque lost his credibility to lead the Philippines on its fight against the pandemic after the Department of Health allegedly purchased overpriced medical suppliers, including personal protective equipment and testing kits.
Senator Lacson, who initiated the graft and corruption inquiries, said Sunday he received information that DOH bought “grossly overpriced” medical supplies such as personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical frontliners.
Senator Lacson revealed the anomalous purchase also included polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests swabbing system.
“Initial figures that we obtained indicate grossly overpriced government-purchased health products like nucleic acid extractor and swabbing system for PCR-based tests, as well as for PPE,” Lacson told the Inquirer.
Lacson and Sotto also said earlier, the country would lose its battle against COVID-19 if Duque would not resign.
Lacson said Senate President Vicente Sotto compared Duque into a “captain ball” who already lost control of the game.
In April, several senators have filed a resolution, calling Duque to resign immediately concerning his performance in handling the COVID-19 crisis in the country.
Duque admitted he was “really hurt” on the senators’ call for him to resign. He, however, said he would remain serving the public as long as President Rodrigo Duterte trusts him.