The Philippine Hospital Association (PHA) composed of 2,000 hospital members expressed support for Health Secretary Francisco Duque III amid calls for his resignation.
PHA President Dr. Jaime Almora said they trust the secretary and the measures of the agency to quell COVID-19 in the country.
“Tanggalin muna natin ang pulitika sa anti-COVID campaign. Magtulung-tulungan lang… Make our efforts be united in this fight (Let’s do away with politics in the anti-COVID campaign. Let’s help each other and make our efforts be united in this fight),” Almora said.
The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAPI) composed of more than 700 private hospitals earlier wrote a letter to President Duterte asking for the replacement of Duque.
Meanwhile, the DOH has suspended giving hydroxychloroquine to COVID-19 patients, following the recommendation of the WHO to temporarily stop its clinical trials due to its adverse effects.
Based on the current data of the DOH, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country is now at 14,669 after 350 new cases were reported.
The recovery tally reached 3,412 while the number of fatalities climbed to 886.