Hospital groups rate DOH coronavirus response '10/10', rally behind Duque
MANILA, Philippines — Four major hospital organizations in the Philippines on Tuesday defended Health Secretary Francisco Duque III against calls for his resignation over the Department of Health's COVID-19 response.
Last week, a majority of senators filed a resolution urging for Duque’s immediate resignation for "failure of leadership, negligence, lack of foresight, and inefficiency in the performance of his mandate...resulting in poor planning, delayed response, lack of transparency, and misguided and flip-flopping policies and measures in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic."
RELATED: Senators call on Duque to quit over COVID-19 response
However, the Philippine Medical Association, Philippine Hospital Association, Private Hospital Association of the Philippines, and the Philippine College of Hospital Administrators said in a collective statement that the DOH has handled the coronavirus crisis "given what is available and its limited resources at the moment," rating the department’s containment efforts a perfect 10 out of 10.
LOOK: STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY of the Philippine Medical Association, Philippine Hospital Association, Private Hospital Association of the Philippines, and the Philippine College of Hospital Administrators.#BeatCOVID19#WeHealAsOne#COVID19PH pic.twitter.com/x90ujBq08z
— Department of Health (@DOHgovph) April 21, 2020
“[We] understand the exasperation of the senators and probably some others as well in the quest for an end to the COVID-19 crisis. The health of the nation is at stake if everything goes not well in addressing the present situation,” read the statement released Tuesday evening.
“It is thus but natural for everyone to look up to the [DOH] headed by its secretary for answers and solutions to this pandemic”
RELATED: 'Why single out Duque?' Senators' resignation call for DOH chief draws mixed reactions
The hospital groups told the public that much remains to be understood about the coronavirus and that Duque’s decisions involve the "sum of all efforts of the private and government experts.".
"Experts in our Associations composed of known epidemiologists, microbiologists, virologists, infectious disease specialists, and still others, are in constant communication with one another on how this menace is going to be defeated. Every minute, all data, both local and international are gathered and collated,” read the statement.
"There are more than a thousand points that are too technical to explain but suffice it to say that defeating the COVID-19 virus is not that simple as it is thought."
However, the statement did not specifically address any of the accusations thrown against Duque.
Among the health secretary’s alleged lapses, as stated in Senate Resolution 362, are his warning against imposing a flight ban between the Philippines and China, delayed contact tracing efforts, neglecting to alert the medical community and the public about COVID-19 patients admitted in local health facilities, information gaps, failing to supply frontline healthcare workers with personal protective equipment, and the slow accreditation of testing centers.
"The use of the testing kits, rt-PCR tests and antibody-testing results are just as deceiving as how the treacherous virus presents itself, but in the long run we will corner this virus and place it to its final resting place and this is when the vaccine will become available in a year at least,” read the statement.
Malacañang earlier vouched for Duque in light of demands for his resignation.
"As I have been repeatedly saying in the past, every Cabinet member serves at the pleasure of the President and until they are fired by the President, the President continues to have full trust and confidence in them," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing.
- Latest
- Trending
