15 Philippine Senators Call for Health Secretary Duque to Quit

Fifteen Philippine senators filed a resolution on Thursday, April 16, calling for the immediate resignation of Department of Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque.

The senators calling for his removal are: Senators Tito Sotto, Ralph Recto, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Manny Pacquiao, Win Gatchalian, Francis Tolentino, Joel Villanueva, Bato Dela Rosa, Imee Marcos, Lito Lapid, Bong Revilla, and Panfilo Lacson.

In the first page of the document, the 15 senators note Duque’s “failure of leadership, negligence, lack of foresight, and inefficiency” as reasons for his immediate resignation.

According to the document, Duque’s leadership resulted 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.”

Here is the full resolution: 

The Philippines currently has 5,452 positive cases, with 353 recoveries and 349 deaths.

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