Palace denies Duque “whipping boy”

July 22, 2020

Malacañang denied on Wednesday that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III will be the "whipping boy" of President Rodrigo Duterte should his administration fail in addressing the coronavirus disease pandemic.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte has not been treating Duque as a whipping boy.

"It has never been the case that I think the President has ever used him as a whipping boy, he's always been supportive of Secretary Duque," he said in an interview by CNN Philippines.

"He (Duterte) says mistakes have been made, for as long as these mistakes were done in good faith, then it's no reason for him to lose confidence. So, let's leave it at that," Roque added.

Detained opposition Senator Leila de Lima has accused that Duque was acting as Duterte's fall guy as she wondered why the Health chief was not reprimanded despite "countless and consequential blunders."

She said Duterte “just needs a whipping boy for the tragedy that they themselves have brought to our nation.”

Some senators earlier sought for Duque's replacement for his alleged inefficiency in handling the pandemic. Celerina Monte/DMS