President Rodrigo Duterte says that he will not accept the resignation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque over the country’s pandemic response.
Duterte said that Duque did nothing wrong after the Commission on Audit flagged over Php67 million “deficiencies” in DOH funds.
Duterte adds that Duque tried to resign twice.
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“Alam ko gusto mo nang mag-resign pero alam mo rin na tatanggihan kita… Sabihin ko sayo, hindi. Wala ka namang ginawang masama, bakit ka mag-resign?” Duterte told Duque.
Duterte even said that the issue of whether the money was stolen, the President added, is “pure bullsh*t.”
“Imposibleng magnakaw ka ng Php67.3 billion. Ang labas niyan sa mga tao akala nawala. Andiyan ‘yung pera. It could also run counter to public policy if you don’t publish it just to inform the people of what is going on,” Duterte added.
READ ON: ‘Walang sinasanto ang Presidente’, says Roque on DOH’s PHP67 billion misused budget
Duterte said that deficiencies mean that the agency hasn’t completed submitting the paperwork to justify their expensed.
But it doesn’t mean the money has been stolen.
“Alam mo, COA, every now and then, maraming regulasyon eh. Naghahabol ang bureaucracy niyan. Many government workers who are placed in a bad light because paglabas nitong COA audit nilagay itong mga deficiences,” the President said. (TDT)
