Palitan na! Ping points out Duque replacement among Senate’s recommendations over PhilHealth mess

While there may still be possible questions about charges against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III over the corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), one thing is certain: Senators want him replaced soonest.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, vice chairman of the Committee of the Whole that probed the irregularities at PhilHealth, said this was included in the committee report.

“The Senate Committee of the Whole did include in its recommendation to the President the replacement of Sec. Duque: ‘To appoint a new Secretary of the Department of Health who has a stronger will to fight corruption within his organization and the agencies under his/her watch,'” he said in a statement.

In an interview on DZRH, Lacson said Duque had long been at the center of controversies involving conflict of interest, including the use of his family-owned building in Dagupan for the PhilHealth’s Regional Office 1; and the Duque-owned Doctors Pharmaceuticals Inc. getting contracts as medicine suppliers for the Department of Health.

But Lacson also said he may seek clarification on the recommendation of the COW to file criminal charges against Duque.

“If I had my way, as I already said before, based on the three hearings of the Committee of the Whole, there may not be enough evidence to recommend criminal charges against Sec. Duque for the simple reason that like the other members of the PhilHealth Board, he had no hand in the illegal implementation of the IRM; nor was he involved in the procurement of overpriced IT equipment,” he said.

“However, my colleagues – particularly Senate President Sotto who chaired the COW hearings – would have seen it another way. Since we are a collegial body, we always abide by the rule of the majority,” he dded.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)