Amid criticisms hurled against the government’s performance in addressing the pandemic, President Rodrigo Duterte continues to defend his preference on entrusting the COVID-19 response to former military officials and not medical experts.
“This is a mechanical act. It is not a study of medicine. Parang transaction sa negosyo,” Duterte said in his address on Wednesday.
“You need not be a doctor here, because you are transacting a business. It is not really a matter of medical science that you are talking of,” he further clarified his stance.
Aside from the pandemic response team, Duterte has always shown fondness in appointing former military officials to various Cabinet posts.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is the current head of the National Task Forces against COVID-19, while former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff and now Interior Secretary Eduardo Año is the vice chairman.
Carlito Galvez, Jr., also a former AFP chief, is the country’s Vaccine czar and chief implementer of the government’s national response against COVID-19.
Other Cabinet officials who have military backgrounds include Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gringo Honasan, Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista, and Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero.
