Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Saturday he would resign from his post once the recent controversy regarding the report of the Commission on Audit (COA) on the Department of Health (DOH) is resolved.
Duque said “it’s a matter of time”, but stressed that he just needs time to settle the issues flagged by COA, particularly the “deficiencies” in the DOH’s spending of its COVID-19 funds.
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“‘Yun naman ang aking pakiusap na i-clear ang COA findings, COA observations, ang aming action plan doon sa recommendations and then I am leaving,” Duque said in a Dobol B TV interview.
“It’s a matter of time. ‘Yun naman talaga ang hiningi ko. I’m stepping down… pero bigyan lang ako ng kaunting panahon para maayos namin ng DOH ang lahat ng COA observations and findings,” he added.
Duque made the remark a day after Senator Bong Go advised him to “make the supreme sacrifice” during the Friday hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee.
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“I have been attending all these hearings both in the House and the Senate with one goal in mind: That is for me and for the DOH to clear all of these COA (Commission on Audit) observations and findings and deficiencies,” Duque said in the hearing.
“We want to clear everything. So if the time comes when I will need to resign, I will. It’s no problem with me. What is important is we clear all of these findings of purported deficiencies and we will address them squarely,” he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said that he would only accept Duque’s decision to step down from the post if it is “voluntary”. (NM)
