FILE. Sen. Imee Marcos (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Who’s in charge? Who’s the real boss?
Senator Imee Marcos posed these series of questions on Monday amid the rising COVID-19 cases in the country.
“Lumang tugtugin na yung sinasabi ko na mag resign si Secretary (Francisco) Duque. Pinagre-resign ko na sya noon pa, tiniwalag na namin yan sa Pangasinan noon pa dahil sa mga scam ng Philhealth…” Marcos said in an online interview.
(I’ve been asking Sec. Duque to resign. We even expelled him in Pangisinan a long time ago because of the scams in Philhealth)
Duque was among those earlier recommended by the Senate Committee of the Whole to be charged over alleged corruptions in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“Question talaga at the end of the day, I don’t know who’s in charge — if it’s Secretary (Carlito) Galvez, Secretary Duque. Kung sinu-sino ang nandyan, sino ba talaga ang amo,” the senator went on.
(The question really at the end is, I don’t know who’s in charge — if it’s Secretary (Carlito) Galvez, Secretary Duque. We have a lot people there, who’s the real boss?)
Duque chairs the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases that Marcos now wants to be abolished, while Galvez heads the National Task Force Against COVID-19.
“The question really boils down to why are we back to square one or worse after one whole horrific year na lahat tayo naka preso sa bahay, na ang mga bata hindi nakakapag aral, walang kumikita, walang pera sa bulsa. Ano ba talaga?” she further asked.
(The question really boils down to why are we back to square one or worse after one whole horrific year that we are all locked in our home, children could not go to schools, people don’t have jobs and money in their pockets.)
Marcos also criticized the confusing terms such as “circuit breaker” being used by the government that make it more difficult for people to follow health protocols
“Huwag ng ECQ, GCQ with variants katulad ng virus ano ba yan hello? At higit sa lahat ay may hard and soft pa. Anong meaning nun?”
ECQ is enhanced community quarantine while GCQ is general community quarantine,
“Walang silbi ang lockdown , kung hindi rin maayos ang pag i-implement (Lockdown is useless if not implemented properly)” Marcos added.