Editorial

Tracing COVID-19 funds

The Office of the Ombudsman is summoning documents from the secretaries of the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Health to find out where the funds for the local COVID-19 response went.

In fact, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said in an earlier interview that his office is sending subpoenas to DBM Secretary Wendel Avisado and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III today to aid its ongoing probe on the country's response measures amid the pandemic.

Martires said in focus are the special allotment release orders for cash benefits extended to the families of frontliners who got infected with the virus and died in the line of duty.

Per record of the DBM, the government has spent ₱354 billion for COVID-19 response as of June 9, 2020.

Avisado said they are prepared to provide all the documents that the Office of the Ombudsman will be requiring because that will help shed light on the issues involved in this investigation. This clarified an earlier statement made by Budget Under secretary Lloyd Lao that the agency has received the summons. Lao supervises the Procurement Service.

Some two weeks ago, President Rodrigo Duterte scolded DOH officials for the slow release of compensation to the family of health workers, saying he will remove them due to inefficiency.

Although it is unclear if any DOH employee or official was sacked, but the President did appoint Southern Philippines Medical Center Director Leopoldo Vega as a new health under secretary to handle this issue.

The head of the country's anti-graft body also slammed DOH Under secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire's comments that they were taken aback by the announcement of the probe two days ago.

Martires said the Ombudsman's fact-finding teams first got in touch with Vergeire's office but could not get her to talk on the phone. He added that they also called up the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, then Duque's office when they started to investigate before the March 15 lockdown, so the officials cannot say they were caught by surprise.

Martires also disputed Vergeire's claim that the probe will interfere with the DOH's work on COVID-19 response and will dampen the morale of their employees.