President Rodrigo Duterte defended the Department of Health (DOH) over the issue of its procurement of allegedly overpriced personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing machines.
In a televised meeting on Monday, Duterte said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was only doing what has been ordered by the president, and he believes that the Health secretary is doing everything he can to win the battle against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
“I would listen to Sec. Duque, but I gave him the instruction, and I admit it in public now, sabi ko sa kaniya, ‘do everything you can…I do not care. If it’s not cheap, it is expensive, go, just go ahead and do something about it kasi ipit na tayo dito (because we are in a bind),” he said.
Duterte said he will take full responsibility on this issue.
“So gusto ko lang malaman ng sambayanang Pilipino na I take full responsibility, na ang utos ko na dalian mo, wala akong pakialam kung saan ka magkuha, magnakaw ka, and I remember saying it. I do not care whether you go and steal, borrow or kill a person to get what needs to be done,” Duterte said.
[I want the public to know that I take full responsibility, I was the one who ordered him to act fast. I don’t care where you get the equipment, whether you steal it, and I remember saying it. I do not care whether you go and steal, borrow or kill a person to get what needs to be done.]
In the same briefing, Department of Budget Management Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao demonstrated a 9-piece PPE set procured by the government for its frontliners.
According to Lao, the most expensive item in the set is the “Ebola-level” suit, which “can stop even air transmissible viruses.” Lao also said local producers will soon start the production of the PPEs using materials imported from China.
Last week, the Senate questioned the DOH and the DBM over reports of the alleged overpricing in the procurement of PPEs for frontliners, as well as the allegations that the COVID-19 testing machines and kits bought by government.
President Rodrigo Duterte has also ordered an investigation into the overpriced procurement.
