MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday admitted some members of his Cabinet had advised him to fire Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

Duterte reiterated his support for Duque amid calls to remove the embattled health chief for his supposed failure to prevent the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines from worsening, among other issues.

“Bakit ko tanggalin (Why would I remove him)? Against the advice of the many, even Cabinet members, sabi ko I will stick with the man na walang kasalanan (without fault) and working, only doing his job. There is no coherent reason why Duque should be out,” he said.

“Pero kung gusto niyang umalis, ibang istorya 'yan. Pero really, nahihiya ako. Mahiya akong mag-ano ng tao na walang kasalanan. After all, ako 'yong nagsabi sa kanya na 'Join me here'," Duterte said.

(If he wants to resign, that's another story. But I'm really ashamed. I will be embarrassed if I fire someone without fault. After all, I'm the one who told him, 'Join me here.')

Duterte traced the country's response problem to the lack of COVID-19 vaccines.

“The real problem can be answered in one statement: supply,” he claimed.

Despite controversies surrounding Duque, Duterte earlier hailed him as a "hero" of the Philippines' response to COVID-19 at a time when there was a new surge in infections in the country.

• Duterte calls Duque 'hero' of Philippine COVID-19 response

Duque has been facing calls to step down over his alleged lapses and failures in addressing the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines. The country has recorded more than a million infections since the pandemic began, exacerbated by a another spike in cases that began late March this year.

Early in the pandemic, he initially rejected a travel ban on visitors from China as COVID-19 was starting to spread from the Chinese city of Wuhan.

• DOH waits for risk assessment before backing total travel ban to China

Sen. Panfilo Lacson also accused Duque of "dropping the ball" in the Philippines' COVID-19 vaccine deal with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, leaving the country behind other neighbors in procuring jabs from the drugmaker.

• Lacson says Duque 'dropped the ball' in vaccine deal with Pfizer

Duque was also tagged in a scam in which several PhilHealth officials allegedly pocketed P15 billion in state funds, and approved the request of overpriced projects and fund releases to supposedly favored hospitals.

• House OKs committee report holding Duque, PhilHealth officials liable for corruption

Due to his alleged lack of leadership, several senators filed a resolution calling for Duque's resignation, citing the health chief's "lack of foresight and inefficiency" as ground for his removal from office.

Despite public backlash and calls from health experts, officials and even political allies, Duterte has repeatedly defended Duque from accusations, saying the health chief still has his trust and confidence.

• Duterte 'sees no major lapse' in claim that Duque 'dropped ball' in vaccine talks

—Report from Joyce Balancio, ABS-CBN News

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