By Gonzalo Duque

 

AS I was writing this column, I was informed that the Ombudsman has dismissed the administrative case filed against my brother, former Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, in connection with the transfer of funds from the Department of Health to the Department of Budget and Management on the ground that he has already resigned as DOH secretary when President Rodrigo Duterte’s term ended.

I am extraordinarily confident that the criminal case filed against Pingcoy will not hold water in the end.

My brother had always been careful in serving the public, having been twice Secretary of Health, PhilHealth president, Undersecretary of Health, chairman of the Civil Service Commission, and chairman of the Government Service Insurance System.

All of us in the Duque family have come to realize that public service, after all, is a thankless job.

Our only consolation is that we have served the public “with the balm of a clear conscience”.

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The long-drawn controversy involving the establishment and construction of the Mother and Child Hospital is finally over. Or is it?

Looking at the sketch plan approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod led by the majority of opposition councilors, I think this will not be the final resolution to the problem.

Maybe, the only reason for the approval of the resolution authorizing Mayor Belen Fernandez to sign a MOA with the DOH for and on behalf of the city was to avoid a situation where the P150 million allotted to the project by the Department for Health is returned to the national government before the deadline lapses.

This is all about politics as one of the provisions in the resolution just passed by the legislative body pointedly prohibits the construction of the hospital on the property donated to the DOH by Kerwin Fernandez, brother of Mayor Belen Fernandez.

This issue will finally be settled after the May 2025 election, depending on who will win between the group of Belen and Celia.

Looking at the lineup for the council of the two groups, I think the group of Belen has the edge this time.

Of course, we do not discount the influence of the Iglesia in Cristo in voters’ choice for candidates.

Malayo pa ang election, kaya marami pa ang pwedeng mangyari.

But at the moment, Mayor Belen has the edge over Celia, performance-wise.

And the fact that Belen has aligned herself with the administration of PBBM, she will certainly get the advantage of the political machinery of the administration.

On the part of Celia and her group, all they need to do is pray that Marcos will not make it to next year’s mid-term elections.

They have about six months to pray for that.

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Pardon, but in my opinion, the national election scene has already turned into a circus.

In the Senate race, it appears that popularity, not capability and wisdom, has become the only measure to become a member of the upper chamber.

Except a few candidates like Senators Pia Cayetano and Bong Go, Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, former Senator Bam Aquino, Atty. Raul Lambino, and, ehem… Pastor Apollo Quiboloy are in my list… just my initial list.

In the race for party-list seats, many of the candidates do not represent the vulnerable sector that need to be represented in Congress.

Many of the party-list groups were organized as an adjunct to the families of politicians.

Look, where have you seen a party-list named PBA but its first nominee is Migs Nograles, who is not even a basketball player and neither is she a referee, coach or cheer leader of basketball games.

The party-list that tops my list is the home-grown Abono, which has been consistent in representing farmers and fisherfolk since its inception.

Moreover, its president and founder, Rosendo So, has always been at the forefront of Abono’s advocacies.

Otherwise, it’s more of the same in the national scene.

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