Dr. Tony Leachon said Thursday that his removal from his post may have something to do with the Dengvaxia controversy that also involved presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
“Every time na may gagawin ako lagi nila akong napapag-initan. May past history rin eh kasi sa Dengvaxia ginag ako ni Secretary Roque, sa hearing ‘yun. You know naman our long history with the Dengvaxia thing na involved din ang ating Health Secretary,” Leachon said.
(Every time I would do something, they would target me. We also had a history because, during the Dengvaxia, Secretary Roque gagged me during the hearing. You know our long history with the Dengvaxia thing which also involved our Health Secretary.)
“It is a crisis time eh, sana ‘yung personal interests nila, you should rise above these particular personal interests for the sake of the country,” Leachon added.
(It is crisis time, I hope their personal interests, you should rise above these particular personal interests for the sake of the country.)
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Wednesday said Leachon was removed from his post because of his “preemptive” release of some information and for being “deaf to collegial advice.”
“He has been cautioned but remained deaf to collegial advice. Constructive criticism among colleagues is most welcome to assure improvement, but this should have been done internally to maintain unity of effort,” Galvez said in a statement.
Also read: Leachon claims Roque, Duque behind his ‘removal’ as NTF adviser
Leachon stressed the importance of accurate “real-time and granular data” in responding to coronavirus pandemic.
“Sa internal meetings, with due respect kay Secretary Galvez, three months na akong nanggagalaiti about real-time and granular data. The real-time and granular data is important because the decision of the IATF naka-anchor po sa datos na iyan,” he said.
(At internal meetings, with due respect to Secretary Galvez, I have been extensively talking about real-time and granular data for three months. The real-time and granular data is necessary because the decision of the IATF is anchored to that data.)
He cited DOH Region VII which reported critical care utilization rate does not match that of the actual situation.
“Ang sabi nilang [stakeholders] lahat ‘puno na po kami.’ Iyon na nga ang hindi ko maintindihan, nag-submit siya [DOH VII regional director] ng report apparently malayo doon sa nakita naming data na iprinesent ng private hospitals doon sa Cebu,” Leachon said.
(The stakeholders said, “we are full.” That is what I can’t understand, the DOH VII regional director submitted a report, but the data is far different from what the private hospitals in Cebu presented.)
He added he could not turn a blind eye on the problem on COVID-19 data, and that is the reason why he turned to social media to raise awareness among the public.