DBM chief goes on medical leave

Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado/ KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado will be on medical leave from Aug. 2 to 13 on the advice of his doctor, Malacañang said Saturday.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in a statement said Avisado was afflicted with COVID-19 where he was hospitalized for eight days and went under quarantine for “over a month.”

The DBM added that Avisado’s doctor advised him to undergo a series of examinations since it has been 14 years since the budget chief underwent a quadruple open heart bypass.

Undersecretary Tina Rose Marie Canda will serve as DBM officer-in-charge when Avisado goes on leave.

“Rest assured that the DBM remains steadfast and committed to its mandate of promoting the efficient and effective management of the national budget to support its budget priorities especially in the midst of the pandemic,” the DBM said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has tasked the DBM to source funds to aid Metro Manila residents who will be affected by the reimposition of the most restrictive enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to August 20.

/MUF