President Rodrigo Duterte has given his permission to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to leave the Senate hearing once lawmakers become “verbally abusive” against them, Malacañang reported.
“Secretary Galvez and Secretary Duque – if the Senate hearing will have a hearing this Friday – will be there,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview.
“But with instruction that if anyone becomes verbally abusive to them, they have the license to stand up and leave.”
According to the spokesman, Galvez had asked the president if he could skip the hearings on the vaccine roadmap as negotiations with vaccine developers have resumed.
“Secretary Galvez was saying because of the Senate hearings, he has lost two weeks’ worth of negotiations with drug suppliers,” the spokesperson said.
However, the president urged the vaccine czar to attend all hearings, adding that should anyone become verbally abusive, they may leave the briefings so.
“But in fairness to the President, his answer was ‘No, go to the Senate. Continue answering questions, continue in the way the manner you’ve been answering. And if they become abusive to you verbally, just stand up and leave. And if they cite you in contempt, I will come and fetch you,” Roque quoted Duterte.
Both houses of Congress have started legislative inquiries on the government’s vaccine plans. Duterte had also ordered Galvez to share vaccine procurement details with Senate President Tito Sotto for “transparency.”
