DOH Chief Duque Failed Minimum Standard Of Leadership Says Sen. Grace Poe
GRACE POE – Senator Grace Poe said the Department of Health (DOH) Chief Francisco Duque III failed the minimum standard of leadership.
Philipines is among the countries that are devasted by the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The Department of Health reported that there are more than 5000 COVID-19 cases in the country. The number of positive cases continues to increase despite the government and health official’s intensified efforts to control the deadly virus.
Some lawmakers in the country are not impressed with the performance of the DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III. Following a previous article, 15 senators filed a resolution calling for the resignation of the health chief.
Based on a report from GMA News, Senator Grace Poe said the health chief failed the minimum standard of leadership amid the coronavirus pandemic. The politician said that following the lack of mass testing and gagging health personnel who’s calling for support.
“We should have a minimum standard for leadership. Iyong mass testing, iyong rapid test kits na FDA-approved na sa ibang bansa, hindi niya pinayagan. Gusto niya centralized lahat. Conventional wisdom naman na kailangan natin ng testing in the shortest possible time. Hindi naman niya naisip iyon,” said Poe.
According to the report, Sen. Grace Poe said the health department only conducts 3000 COVID-19 tests per day. She said their target should be 8000 or 10000 per day.
The politician also cited the issue of Dr. Clarita Avila, National Center for Mental Health Chief Administrative Officer. Avila previously revealed taht 34 of their employees were infected with coronavirus due to lack of PPEs.
“Again, minimum standard, eh ginag-order iyong tao mo na nagsabing kailangan ng tulong ng National Center for Mental Health kasi 34 na ang infected sa kanila. Ano ba namang klaseng kalihim iyan?” she said.
Based on the report, Grace Poe called out DOH chief for delaying the banning of Chinese from Wuhan City, the epicenter of the virus. “If the ban was imposed earlier and contact tracing was quickly done after the first case was recorded, the situation would have been different,” she said.
The politician said Duque should be replaced because if he continues, he would only do more harm considering the coronavirus issue is far from over.
“Marami naman tayong propesyonal riyan. I just don’t want to name them because I do not want to put them on the spot. Pero mahaba pa itong coronavirus. PIDS even said we would need 500,000 ICU units, 300,000 ventilators, and one million hospital beds,” she said, referring to Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) which serves as the government’s primary socioeconomic policy think tank…”
“Kung ganito ang kapitan natin ngayong krisis, baka lalo tayong mapahamak,” she added.
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