MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang distanced itself from calls asking for the resignation of Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III while saying President Rodrigo Duterte continues to have trust and confidence in his Cabinet members.
“Wala pa po kaming posisyon. Wala po kami kaming kinalaman kung mayroong ganyan inisyatibo ng pagresign ng ating kalihim ng Secretary of Health,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday in a virtual briefing.
“Gaya ng paulit ulit kong sinasabi sa nakalipas na panahon, every Cabinet member serves at the pleasure of the President. Habang hindi sila tinatanggal, the President continues to have full trust and confidence in them,” he added.
Roque issued the statement after some senators sought for the “immediate resignation” of Duque over his performance in managing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation in the country.
Under Senate Resolution No. 362, 14 some senators cited Duque’s “failure of leadership, negligence, lack of foresight, and inefficiency in the performance of his mandate as the secretary of the Department of Health (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 continues to endanger the lives of our healthcare professionals, other frontliners, and the Filipino people.”
The Philippines as of Wednesday confirmed 5,453 cases of the coronavirus disease with 349 fatalities and 353 recoveries.
The country has the highest recorded number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, followed closely by Indonesia and Malaysia.