Palace: Duterte himself asked 'why Leachon was talking like that'
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte was not happy with physician Tony Leachon's criticisms against the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Malacañang said Thursday, as it claimed that the administration has been transparent in reporting about the health crisis.
Leachon, who had assailed the health department for supposedly losing focus on risk communication, priorities, data management, and plan execution, announced last Wednesday that he is no longer an adviser for the National task Force against COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).
He claimed Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and presidential spokesman Harry Roque had requested his removal from the post.
But Roque denied this, saying the president agreed that Leachon should not have criticized the government's handling of the pandemic.
"He (Leachon) is giving me too much credit, pambansang laway lang po ako. Wala po talaga akong kapangyarihan na mag-compel sa kahit sino sa kanila na mag-resign (I am just the national saliva. I don't have the power to compel anyone to resign)," Roque said at a press briefing.
"During our last meeting with the president, the president himself asked why Leachon was talking like that. So let me correct you, Dr. Leachon: It's not me, it's not Secretary Duque but the president himself noted that you should not be doing what you were doing," he added.
Roque clarified that Duterte did not seek Leachon's resignation.
"The president did not say he (Leachon) should resign, because all of us were not sure about his role. I talked to Secretary Duque when he questioned the DOH (Department of Health) figure... I thought he was an adviser to Secretary Duque. It wasn't the case. He told me he was adviser to (COVID-19 policy chief implementer) Secretary (Carlito) Galvez," Roque said.
"But when the president spoke, I hope Secretary Galvez does not mind, Secretary Galvez said he felt weak with what the president declared as far as the statements of Dr. Leachon are concerned. Perhaps, it's not me, not Secretary Duque who prodded Secretary Galvez to let go of him. It was a declaration of the president himself," he added.
Roque maintained that the DOH never hid any information about the COVID-19 cases in the country. He said members of the policy-making body Interagency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases are striving to improve the reporting of updates.
"He (Leachon) is making it appear that all of us are lying except him. It can't be that he is the only one speaking the truth. There is a need to improve our reporting of data to make it accurate but no one is lying," the Palace official said.
"We do not have the monopoly of the truth and we have never lied. In what area did we lie? He should state that."
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