Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s incompetence in effectively battling against the deadly coronavirus disease has been the subject of criticisms from local celebrities, public officials and ordinary citizens alike.
Adding to the roster of Duque’s critics is the eldest daughter of Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Megastar Sharon Cuneta, Frankie. The young singer is the latest to call out Duque whom she described as “unapologetically incompetent” for his “deeply unsettling” actions.
She wrote: “How does Duque sleep at night?” She then added: “The severe lack of empathy anyone would need to be that unapologetically incompetent is seriously beyond understandable it’s so deeply unsettling.”
See her tweets below:
how does duque sleep at night
— kakie (@kakiep83) August 5, 2020
the severe lack of empathy anyone would need to be that unapologetically incompetent is seriously beyond understandable it’s so deeply unsettling
— kakie (@kakiep83) August 5, 2020
Meanwhile, Frankie’s father, Opposition Senator Francisco “Kiko” Pangilinan on Friday said he would not take President Rodrigo Duterte’s COVID-19 recovery plans seriously unless Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is axed.
“Before we even begin to take the President’s plan seriously, he should fire Duque. His proposals to address COVID rings hollow and empty when he condones incompetence and corruption,” Pangilinan said in a message.
He also claimed that authorities in charge of addressing the pandemic have “miserably failed” to stop the spread of the virus for allegedly missing their targets for mass testing and contact tracing.
Duque also earned the ire of Senator Panfilo “Ping’ Lacson over his incompetence to stop the spread of the virus in the country yet President Rodrigo Duterte has once again defended the health secretary from massive criticisms on his management of the COVID-19 crisis.
In a tweet on Monday morning, August 3, Lacson quoted the President’s public address from the previous night: “You want me to fire Duque? He did not import COVID-19.”
“You want me to fire Duque?… He did not import Covid-19”.
No sir. The Covid-19 importers are the virus-infected couple from Wuhan, China who spread the virus in Manila because your Secretary Duque miserably failed to do a simple contact tracing.
— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) August 2, 2020
“I couldn’t understand what ‘amulet’ or magic potion Duque has as far as the President is concerned,” Lacson said in a separate statement.
Lacson then added, “No sir. The COVID-19 importers are the virus-infected couple from Wuhan, China, who spread the virus in Manila because your Secretary Duque miserably failed to do a simple contact-tracing.”
Lacson is one of the 14 senators who signed Senate Resolution No. 362 which sought Duque’s resignation over his alleged “failure of leadership.” The Cabinet official, however, did not yield his post.
The senators who filed the resolution are Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Manny Pacquiao, Sherwin Gatchalian, Francis Tolentino, Joel Villanueva, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Imee Marcos, Lito Lapid, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and Panfilo Lacson.
The calls for resignation were mostly anchored on the purported failure of the DOH to stanch the rise of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection and his failure to check alleged corruption at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) as its ex-officio President.
The Chief Executive, however, has reiterated his support for Duque despite numerous calls by lawmakers and the public for his resignation for inefficiency and lack of leadership.
