Philippines health department probed for ‘lapses’ in coronavirus fight

President Rodrigo Duterte has sacked special adviser Dr Anthony Leachon after he criticised the agency

Separately, the country’s ombudsman is investigating the department for ‘irregularities’ causing fatalities among medical frontliners

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Filipinos stranded due to quarantine protocols prepare to board a bus for travel to their home province of Isabela from Quezon City, Metro Manila. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:06pm, 18 Jun 2020Updated: 1:42am, 19 Jun 2020

The Philippines’ Department of Health has come under fire as President Rodrigo Duterte sacked a special adviser to the task force battling Covid-19 who criticised the department, while the country’s ombudsman has revealed an investigation into its alleged “lapses and irregularities”.

Duterte on Wednesday ordered the dismissal of Dr Anthony Leachon as special adviser to the National Task Force Against Covid-19, after the health reform advocate on Saturday tweeted that “the lead agency has lost focus in everything – risk communication, priorities, data management, and execution of all plans”.

Infections in the country rose to 27,799 on Thursday as the health department reported 562 new cases. Of the latter figure, 481 were labelled “fresh”, meaning test results had been released within three days of testing, and 81 were “late”, meaning they had been released beyond that three-day window.

Fatalities stood at 1,116, while 7,090 people have recovered.

According to presidential spokesman Harry Roque, neither he nor health secretary Francisco Duque were behind the sacking.