Why the trust in Duque, Mr. President?

I wonder why President Duterte still trusts and has confidence in Health Secretary Duque when the man is involved in so many controversies. Firstly, he is one of those charged in the anomaly of the Dengvaxia procurement. Then when the corruption in PhilHealth was discovered, as chairman of the Board of Trustees, he is liable and accountable because for two decades that the agency is under his watch, he was not able to detect the ongoing anomaly. He was even called by somebody as the godfather of the mafia in the PhilHealth but he did not lift a finger to protect his name and reputation, except by saying that his family is greatly hurt by the accusation.

Then when he was made to explain why those frontliners who died and their families did not right away receive the compensation due them, he easily pointed to his subordinates as the culprits. Again in the procurement of vaccines against the coronavirus, there are lapses, and Duque as secretary of Health is asked to explain.

I don't know why until now Duque still holds the office of Secretary of Health because if I were the President of this country, I would have fired the man from his job as some legislators wanted him to be.

Fighting insurgency

Meanwhile, the Makabayan bloc of legislators cried foul and accused President Duterte of red-tagging. But President Digong unequivocally stated that he was not red-tagging; he was, instead, identifying them. The belief that they are is bolstered when the young daughter of Makabayan bloc congresswoman died in an encounter when the military raided an NPA den.

 At the outset of Makabayan legislators admitted that the NPAs are their friends. How about the saying which says, “tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are”? Can this not be applied to them? Besides, the NPA is an enemy of the state and there's an Arab adage that says. “The friend of your enemy is your enemy, and the enemy of your enemy is your friend.” Right?

The recent pronouncement of Defense Secretary Lorenzana that the Makabayan legislators are the legal fronts of the CPP-NPA-NDF was a nail to the coffin. The bail is now on the government's hand and the most efficient way to extinguish or exterminate insurgency in our country is to get rid of their padrinos in Congress who are actually involved in sheep's clothing.

Jose Hortelano

Balamban, Cebu