MANILA, Philippines 鈥� President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday admitted he was the one who ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to skirt from the bidding process in the procurement of protective personal equipment (PPE) during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淎ko ang nag-utos kay Duque. Noong nandito kami, ginanun ko 鈥業 want it done immediately鈥� sabi ko sa kanya it鈥檚 not a month, it鈥檚 one day, two days ka lang.鈥� Ako ang nagsabi sa kaniya 鈥業 am sure there is a law which would exempt you from bidding.鈥� Madalian ito, pandemic eh,鈥� Duterte said in his public address aired Tuesday morning.
(I was the one who ordered Duque. When we were here, I told him 鈥淚 want it done immediately.鈥� I told him it should only take one or two days. I was the one who told him 鈥淚 am sure there is a law which would exempt you from bidding.鈥� This is a pandemic so we had to act immediately.)
鈥淎ko ang nag-utos, ako ipakulong nila,鈥� he added.
(I was the one who ordered it. Let them jail me.)
He reasoned that the usual bidding process takes 30 days and the government needed supplies immediately as the pandemic is starting to wreak havoc in the country.
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