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Senators hit Duque for passing on questions to other DOH officials in Blue Ribbon probe

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA— Several senators on Wednesday criticized Health Secretary Francisco Duque III for relying too much on his subordinates in answering questions during a congressional inquiry into questionable expenditures at the Department of Health (DOH).</p><p>Since the first hearing last week, Duque has been referring the questions of lawmakers either to health undersecretaries or heads of bureaus under the DOH.</p><p>&quot;Secretary Duque, I respect you, but please you don&#x27;t pass it on,&quot; Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair Sen. Richard Gordon said during the hearing.</p><p>&quot;You have to man up and answer questions yourself because that shows weakness,&quot; he said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/18/21/senators-call-out-duque-over-emotional-rant-vs-coa">Senators call out Duque over &#x27;emotional&#x27; statements vs state auditors</a></li></ul><p>Gordon added that Duque&#x27;s failure to answer questions directly gives the public a bad impression on the health chief.</p><p>&quot;Kaya ka napagdududahan dahil hindi ka sumasagot ng questions forthrightly,&quot; the senator said.</p><p>(You seem dubious because you are not answering questions forthrightly.)</p><p>&quot;I don&#x27;t think that is your intention kaya sagutin ninyo agad (so answer the questions immediately),&quot; he said.</p><p>Senate President Vicente Sotto III also took a jab at Duque with a tweet, saying: &quot;When you are head of Agency and cannot answer for your agency’s actions, you are incompetent!&quot;</p><p>Last year, several senators signed a resolution calling for Duque&#x27;s resignation due to his alleged incompetence in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/16/20/senators-demand-duques-resignation-as-health-chief-over-coronavirus-crisis">Senators demand Health Secretary Duque&#x27;s resignation over coronavirus crisis</a></li></ul><p>But President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly defended Duque, even calling the Health Secretary as the pandemic&#x27;s &quot;hero&quot; during his last State of the Nation Address in July.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/04/21/duterte-calls-duque-hero-of-philippine-covid-19-response">Duterte calls Duque &#x27;hero&#x27; of Philippine COVID-19 response</a></li></ul><p>On Tuesday, Duterte said he would not fire Duque unless he resigns voluntarily.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/08/25/21/duterte-says-hell-accept-voluntary-duque-resignation">Duterte changes tack, says he&#x27;ll accept if Duque quits &#x27;voluntarily&#x27;</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/24/21/duterte-on-duque-i-will-stand-by-him">Duterte reiterates support for Duque: &#x27;I will stand by him&#x27;</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1755509" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Senators on Wednesday criticized the DOH chief for relying too much on his subordinates to answer questions at a Senate hearing.

Senators hit Duque for passing on questions to other DOH officials in Blue Ribbon probe

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Senators hit Duque for passing on questions to other DOH officials in Blue Ribbon probe

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 25, 2021 01:42 PM PHT

Read More:

DOH

Department of Health

Francisco Duque III

Tito Sotto

Richard Gordon

Senate

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee

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