Philippine health ministry denies corruption in $1.3b Covid funds

The Philippine health minister, facing questions over more than $1 billion in Covid-19 spending, denied on Saturday that any money was “stolen”, as his department vowed to account for every peso.

The country is battling one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, and the spread of the virulent Delta variant is overwhelming hospitals and healthcare workers, some of which have warned of mass resignations over unpaid allowances.

“You will be assured that no money went into corruption. None was stolen. I am sure of that,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque told DZMM radio on Saturday.

The state auditor has flagged “deficiencies” involving 67.3 billion pesos ($1.33 billion), casting doubts on the regularity of related transactions in the country’s pandemic response.

The health ministry said it will submit its explanation, including required documents, to the state auditor next week, ahead of a Sept. 27 deadline.

The Philippines on Saturday recorded 14,249 new Covid-19 infections, its second-biggest daily increase, and 233 additional deaths. The positivity rate was a record high, with a quarter of the nearly 53,000 people tested confirmed positive.

With more than 1.71 million infections and 29,838 deaths, the Philippines has the second-highest Covid-19 cases and fatalities in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia.