DOH chief’s brother named PCA head

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has appointed lawyer Gonzalo Duque, brother of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, as new head of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) or Philcoa.

“With his credentials, we expect a man of competence and integrity in the likes of Mr. Duque to champion the cause of the Filipino coconut farmers,” said presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo in a statement.

The Duque brothers were among those accused in the plunder charge filed by the parents of children who died allegedly after they were given the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

Gonzalo, who was accused of conspiring with his brother to “amass, acquire or accumulate ill-gotten wealth,” took his oath before Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea yesterday.

The complainants alleged that the brothers benefited from a lease deal that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) entered with the Educational and Medical Development Corp., where Gonzalo was said to have held key posts and Francisco was a “substantial” stockholder.

As the health secretary, Francisco also chaired the PhilHealth Board.  PCA deputy administrator and officer-in-charge Glenn Santos said Duque already made a visit to the PCA office last week.

“He dropped by my office last week and just told me that he is waiting for the release of his appointment papers. I think he is a very serious one. He just asked for our support. We have not discussed anything on the agenda yet,” Santos told The STAR.

In a separate interview, Gonzalo said the first item on his agenda as PCA administrator is “to keep the building in order.”

“When I came over last week at the PCA, I saw that indeed it was in a mess and we need to address a lot of things, especially the upkeep of the building. I thought the PCA building was like a tombstone,” he pointed out.  – With Alexis Romero, Eva Visperas