MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Saturday denied that he would want Health Secretary Francisco Duque III removed from his post. READ: Lacson tags health chief in previous PhilHealth controversy amid dialysis claims mess“It is difficult to understand why the chairman who happens to be the DOH secretary was spared while the board members were asked to resign,” Lacson said. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier asked PhilHealth officials to resign over the allegations of a “ghost dialysis” scheme. The senator was referring to the alleged illegal use of P530 million in funds of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to purchase PhilHealth cards that were distributed nationwide. “We are talking here of hard-earned people’s money that was misappropriated for the election campaign of a sitting president,” the senator reacted.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 15, 2019 11:36 UTC