PINAGBIBITIW ng 14 na senador si Health Secretary Francisco Duque dahil sa kapalpakan umano sa paghahanda ng bansa laban sa coronavirus disease 2019.
Sa ilalim ng Senate Resolution 362, tinukoy ang “lack of foresight and inefficiency” ni Duque kaya umano lumala ang problema ng bansa sa COVID-19.
“Whereas, knowing fully well the danger posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the beginning of the year, Secretary Duque failed to put in place the necessary precautionary measures to lessen, if not at all prevent, the impact of this health crisis,” saad ni resolusyon na inihain bago magtanghali kanina.
Dahil sa hindi umano magandang paghawak ng mga opisyal ng DoH sa sitwasyon ay nahaharap ang bansa sa “quite negative dynamics”.
Ang Pilipinas din umano ay nakakuha ng pinakamababang safety ranking sa mga bansa sa Asia Pacific batay sa pag-aaral sa 150 bansa.
Tinukoy din sa resolusyon ang pagkabigo ng DoH na bilisan ang accreditation ng mga testing centers gaya ng kaso ng Marikina City.
Kahit na mayroon na umanong kakulangan sa mga health professionals at marami sa mga ito ang sobra-sobra na ang trabaho, hindi umano ginamit ni Duque ang Medical Act para makatulong ang mga graduate ng medical schools.
“Fortunately, this matter was resolved on 14 April 2020 when IATF spokesperson Karlo Nograles announced that they approved the interim guidelines allowing the deployment of 1,500 new medical graduates to public hospitals to aid in the combat against COVID-19.”
Ang resolusyon ay inihain nina Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Manny Pacquiao, Sherwin Gatchalian, Francis Tolentino, Joel Villanueva, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Imee Marcos, Lito Lapid, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. at Panfilo Lacson.
“As it hereby resolved by the Senate, to call for the immediate resignation of Sec. Francisco Duque III for his failure of leadership, negligence, lack of foresight, and inefficiency in the performance of his mandate as the Secretary of the DoH resulting in poor planning, delayed response, lack of transparency, and misguided and flip-flopping policies and measures in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic that endangered and continue to endanger the lives of our healthcare professionals, other frontliners and the Filipino people.”