FORMER Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday revealed that former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte directed the controversial transfer of P47.6 billion from the Department of Health (DOH) to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) for purchasing Covid-19 supplies in 2020.
Duque made the statement during an oversight hearing of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations, which is reviewing the budget performance of the DOH and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
During the hearing, chaired by Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, House appropriations panel vice chairman, and Rep. France Castro, nominee to the House of the ACT Teachers party-list group, Duque was asked about the origin of the fund transfer.
“As stated earlier by Secretary Duque, a large transfer of P47.6 billion was made during our dates with President Duterte. Is this correct?” Castro enquired.
Duque responded, “Publicly this was made by the President in our meetings in the weekly meeting or talk to the people.”
The Ombudsman recently ordered the filing of graft charges against Duque III and former DBM Undersecretary Christopher Lao over what was described as an “irregular transfer” of DOH funds to PS-DBM for procuring Covid-19 supplies. Additionally, the anti-graft agency found Duque and Lao guilty of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the service.
During the House hearing, Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin further inquired about the official instructions behind the fund transfer.
“So I think, Honorable Castro, the answer of Secretary Duque was in a public address by the President…the former President. That surprises me a bit, Madam Chairwoman because there are usually official notices or instructions,” said Garin, who once served as health secretary.
“So was there any instruction, Madam Chairwoman, or who instructed Secretary Duque to initiate the P47.6 billion transfer? It can be answered by the name of the authority who instructed him or the name of the committee or I do not know. If Secretary Duque can respond,” said Garin.
But Duque stood firm, asserting his authority in the matter.
“Madam Chairperson, it is within my authority to effect the fund transfer. I do not deny that,” he added.
However, Garin persisted in seeking clarity, pressing Duque on whether the decision was made unilaterally, “The question is did you unilaterally decide to transfer P47.6 billion to PS-DBM?”
In response, Duque clarified, “No is the answer. I’m just complying with the rules of the PS-DBM. Again, I do not want to belabor the laws that authorize the PS-DBM to procure in a state of public health emergency materials.”
Duque explained that the decision was based on recommendations from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which he also chaired.
“But I would like to reiterate that it is within my authority to effect the transfer because of the public health emergency where there were not enough CSEs [common-use supplies and equipment], PPEs [personal protective equipment], and other Covid pandemic supplies,” Duque added.
“So we wanted just to make sure, Madam Chairperson, that the lives of our people are protected and that the risks are mitigated from our people possibly then at the height of the pandemic that nobody knew about, that would have resulted in the millions of infections and countless deaths of our healthcare workers,” he stressed.
Additionally, Garin criticized the Duterte administration’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic, asserting that it exacerbated the burden on the public.
She pointed out the exorbitant cost of Covid-19 testing, which PhilHealth initially set at P8,150, in contrast to the P2,000 to P2,500 recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Garin also raised serious concerns over the government’s handling of Covid-19 loans, emphasizing the burden on the public and the lack of accountability for the borrowed funds.
It was also learned during the hearing that the government secured a total of US$2.21 billion for the Philippine Covid-19 Emergency Response Project (PCERP) and the Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit Covid-19 (HEAL) in 2021 and 2022.
Originally published in https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/06/03/duque-duterte-ordered-transfer-of-p47-6-b-doh-funds-to-dbm/
