Recycled incoming DOH Sec should answer for past scams

Recently appointed Department of Health Secretary Francis Duque III should be made accountable for his past shenanigans, health workers under Health Alliance for Democracy said Monday.

HEAD's spoof version of the PhilHealth ID Card that was distributed by the Arroyo administration during the 2004 presidential elections. Recently appointed DOH secretary Duque was also secretary then.
 

As PhilHealth president before becoming DOH secretary under Gloria Arroyo, Duque used PhilHealth as a tool for political patronage. First, there were accusations that up to PHP 530 million-worth of OFW-contributed health insurance funds were diverted to PhilHealth. Duque had reassured then President Arroyo that it "will have a significant bearing on the 2004 elections."

PhilHealth cards were then distributed to indigents when Arroyo campaigned for the 2004 presidential elections. The cards bore Arroyo’s picture, which only had a one-year validity.

"Duque’s return to DOH concurs with the reappointment of other Arroyo-era officials and generals. This signals Arroyo's complete restoration into Filipino politics, despite a corruption-laden and repressive presidency," said HEAD secretary-general Dr. Joseph Carabeo.

Meanwhile, Duque's tenure in DOH was marked by a "medical tourism" campaign, which sought to make the country a leisure and wellness hub for government revenue and as a "solution" to the country's brain drain of health professionals. 

"He offered cheap medical services to foreigners, but none to his poor and ailing countrymen," remarked Carabeo. "He had no insight that health professionals were leaving because of low wage and appalling work conditions."

The medical tourism campaign was further used to justify the corporatization of public hospitals such as the National Kidney Transplant Institute and the Lung Center of the Philippines. These hospitals now see higher prices for admission and services.

The return of Duque in DOH signals plague, not change. The epidemic of corruption infects the healthcare system under Duterte's watch. We therefore call on the health sector to intervene and stop this contagion. Through our collective action, we demand for DOH and Malacañan to hold Duque accountable for his past crimes and listen to the heed of the health sector for a free, comprehensive, and progressive healthcare.##