Manila Bulletin
Poe: Duque should be suspended over unused COVID-19 funds
Senator Grace Poe questioned why Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has not yet been suspended, even preventively, by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Poe drew a parallel to the Ombudsman's previous decision to impose six-month preventive suspensions on eight PhilHealth executives for graft complaints related to P2 billion in Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) funds.
The senator also pointed out that five Department of Health (DOH) officials were previously suspended for six months due to delays in releasing benefits to health workers.
This inquiry comes in light of a Department of Health (DOH) audit report revealing P67 billion in pandemic funds were deficiently used.
The Commission on Audit (COA) report highlighted that the DOH did not obligate P11 billion for frontliners' hazard pay and special risk allowance in 2020.
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Health Secretary Francisco Duque III stated that the Commission on Audit's (COA) report on the Department of Health's (DOH) P67.32 billion COVID-19 fund use has demoralized the agency.
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State auditors identified deficiencies amounting to P67.32 billion in the Department of Health's (DOH) COVID-19 funds for 2020.
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State auditors from the Commission on Audit (COA) will brief the House of Representatives on Tuesday, August 17, regarding deficiencies found in the Department of Health's (DOH) utilization of P67.32 billion in COVID-19 funds.
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Health Secretary Francisco Duque III stated that due process must be observed before any government official can be suspended, emphasizing that suspensions require a formal investigation to establish a prima facie case and a valid complaint.
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Senators expressed dissatisfaction with the Department of Health's (DOH) explanations regarding the utilization of its COVID-19 funds during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.
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