Duterte to report on gov’t COVID-19 expenses Monday night

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte will report to the public on Monday night the government expenses related to its COVID-19 pandemic response, his spokesman Harry Roque said.

In a televised Palace press briefing, Roque said the President has requested government agencies to submit to his office their respective COVID-19 expenses report.

“Mag-a-address po ang ating Presidente. Isa po sa hiningi ni Presidente ngayon para sa talumpati niya ay ‘yung report sa lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno kung pano po nagastos ‘yung lahat ng COVID-related expenses,” Roque said.

“Irereport po yan ng ating Presidente,” he added.

The speech will be aired after Duterte’s meeting with members of his Cabinet in Davao City where he has been staying since August 3.

Seven senators earlier filed Resolution No. 479, asking the Commission of Audit (COA) to scrutinize the Duterte administration’s spending on its COVID-19 response.

The resolution was filed after concerns were raised over government purchases “marred by allegations of overpricing,” including the procurement of automated nucleic acid extractors, personal protective equipment (PPE) sets and the importation of RT-PCR test kits from China and South Korea.

The COA is asked to present its findings before the 2021 budget deliberations.

But Malacañang said it welcomes the special audit, saying that it does not have anything to hide.

“Wala pong tinatago ang Presidente at ang Malacañang. Lahat po ng gastos, lahat po ng pera na ginastos para sa COVID-19, napunta po yan para sa COVID-19 response ng gobyerno,” Roque previously said.

EDV