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Health Secretary Francisco Duque III gives an update to President Rodrigo Duterte during a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila on August 24, 2021. King Rodriguez, Presidential Photo

Article (news)

Politics-Duterte

Sherrie Ann Torres

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:952px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/171748994204420210824-duterte-iatf-MNIB03-2.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Health Secretary Francisco Duque III gives an update to President Rodrigo Duterte during a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila on August 24, 2021. King Rodriguez, Presidential Photo"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Health Secretary Francisco Duque III gives an update to President Rodrigo Duterte during a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila on August 24, 2021. King Rodriguez, Presidential Photo</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATED)</strong> — Former Senate President Franklin Drilon on Tuesday said that the supposed alliance between former government officials has crumbled following ex-Health Secretary Francisco Duque&#x27;s admission that former President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered the transfer of pandemic funds to a controversial budget department office that has since been implicated in irregular purchases of pandemic response supplies.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/11/duque-to-appeal-against-indictment-over-p41-b-covid-funds-transfer-1903">• Duque to appeal against indictment over P41-B COVID funds transfer</a></div><p>“Naglalaglagan na yung mga players ng Pharmally,&quot; Drilon said. </p><p>(The Pharmally players are throwing each other under the bus)</p><p>Duque on Monday claimed at a House committee hearing that it was Duterte who actually directed him to transfer the P47.6 billion COVID funds to the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).</p><p>About P12 billion worth of pandemic funds went to Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp. in deals that were allegedly marred by corruption.</p><p>Duque’s change of tune, according to Drilon, must have been prodded by realization that he will go to prison for owning up to the transfer.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/10/ombudsman-duque-lao-liable-for-pharmally-deal-1940">• Ombudsman: Duque, Lao liable for Pharmally mess</a></div><p>“Si Duterte was being protected by Duque all these times. Eh ngayon, na-realize nya na under the law, ang Presidente lang ang puwedeng maglipat ng pondo, hindi ang Secretary of Health. Kaya sinabi na nya, aba, utos ito ni Pangulong Duterte,” Drilon said.</p><p>(Duterte was being protected by Duque all these times. but now, he has realized that, under the law, only the President can transfer funds, and not the Secretary of Health. That&#x27;s why he said: &#x27;Well, President Duterte ordered it&#x27;.)</p><p>This, Drilon said, has led to details of the transaction coming out.</p><div><strong>DUQUE: STATEMENT TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT</strong></div><p><strong> </strong>In a statement on Tuesday, Duque said that what he told the Committe on Appropriations was that &quot;Duterte indeed gave his approval to course the procurement of the said face masks, face shields and PPEs through the PS-DBM, when the DOH sought his position thereon prior to implementation.&quot;</p><p>He added: &quot;After the hearing, however, I have learned that my statement has regrettably been taken out of context.&quot;</p><p>He said that Duterte had &quot;from the very beginning of the unprecedented public health emergency wrought by the COVID-19 virus&quot; ordered the government to act quickly to address the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>&quot;His directives were openly made and repeated during our numerous cabinet meetings, his regular televised public address, and in various interviews reported by news outlets,&quot; Duque said.</p><p>He added that the purchase of the &quot;common-use supplies and equipment&quot; (CSEs) — face masks, face shields and Personal Protective Equipment — bought through PS-DBM were in accordance with emergency powers legislated by Congress. </p><p>The Office of the Ombudsman, in affirming graft charges against Duque and former PS-DBM Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, said in May that these items could not be considered CSEs, a term usually used for office supplies.</p><p>&quot;It is evident that DOH did not &#x27;source&#x27; the COVID-19 related supplies from PS-DBM but instead &#x27;outsourced&#x27; the procurement activity to PS-DBM since the latter’s &#x27;store&#x27; did not have the medical supplies that DOH intended to buy at the time the fund transfers were made,&quot; <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/10/ombudsman-duque-lao-liable-for-pharmally-deal-1940">the Ombudsman also pointed out in May</a>.</p><p>It said the DOH should have bought the supplies directly from suppliers.</p><p>&quot;What has been lost in the political noise is the fact that these CSEs were procured sometime in April 2020, during the very beginning of the pandemic when the only way we knew to protect ourselves, most especially our health workers, from the COVID-19 virus was through face masks, face shields and PPEs. Their procurement was not only necessary, but was of extreme urgency,&quot; Duque said Tuesday. </p><div><strong>&#x27;UP TO OMBUDSMAN TO CONSIDER DUQUE STATEMENT IN CASE&#x27;</strong></div><p>Drilon, a lawyer and former justice secretary, said the Office of the Ombudsman has a chance to decide whether it will take Duque&#x27;s statement into account, especially since corruption of funds allegedly happened during the acquisition of supplies, Drilon said.</p><p>He added determining who should be charged over the Pharmally deals falls on the Office of the Ombudsman. </p><p>Drilon said that Duque could turn &quot;state witness&quot; in the Pharmally case, but that it remains to be seen if he would be willing to.</p><p>Meanwhile, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros wants Duterte to explain why he ordered the transfer of funds.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/06/02/22/pharmally-probe-report-not-tackled-on-last-session-day">• PH senators fail to tackle Pharmally probe report on last session day</a></div><p>&quot;I am not surprised by former Secretary Duque’s revelation. Since Duque made this statement under oath, former President Duterte should be included in the investigation, especially since it can be proven that he was introduced to Pharmally officials by Michael Yang, his special adviser, in 2017,&quot; Hontiveros said in a statement.</p><p>Government officials, including Duterte, had defended the transaction, saying there was a need to fast-track procurement because of the COVID-19 emergency and that the controversial firm had delivered on the contracts.</p><div><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">&quot;If there was an order, and the order was delivered, and the product was found to be as specified, then we pay, ewan ko kung ano pang hinahanap nito? Why go into the bagay?&quot; </span><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/11/21/duterte-to-senators-well-find-whats-wrong-with-you"></a><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/11/21/duterte-to-senators-well-find-whats-wrong-with-you">Duterte said in September 2021</a></span><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">as the Senate held hearings into Pharmally.</span></div><p>&quot;Duterte should, at the very least, explain the policy considerations that resulted in his directive to Secretary Duque. As the Ombudsman continues its Pharmally probe, I trust that it will take this revelation into account,&quot; she added. <strong>—With a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News</strong></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E1hh0EVrG1A?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div> </div>

<p>Duque’s change of tune, according to Drilon, must have been prodded by realization that he will go to prison for owning up to the transfer.</p>

Duque’s change of tune, according to Drilon, must have been prodded by realization that he will go to prison for owning up to the transfer.

'Laglagan na': Drilon says truth on Pharmally mess starting to come out

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'Laglagan na': Drilon says truth on Pharmally mess starting to come out

Sherrie Ann Torres,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 04, 2024 05:23 PM PHT

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Updated Jun 04, 2024 05:44 PM PHT

Read More:

Pharmally

Duque

DOH

pandemic

scandal

corruption

Ombudsman

Francisco Duque III

ANC

Duterte

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