Relatives of Dengvaxia victims have asked the Office of the Ombudsman to subpoena the Department of Health, Philippine Health Corp. and Social Security System to produce the 2001-2018 Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), and personal data sheets of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and his brother—lawyer Gonzalo Duque—to determine if they have declared in their SALNs their family-owned business—the Educational and Medical Development Corp. (EMDC)—or not.
In a six-page motion for issuance of subpoena, Ariel Hedia and wife Ruby, Sonia Guerra, Liberty Ganzore, Raul Galoso and wife Elloly, Raymond Ancheta, Ma. Cecilia Torres, Danilo Bautista and wife Sheryl, and Edna Santos also told the Ombudsman that "we also like to respectfully reiterate our prayer in our joint supplemental complaint-affidavit that all copies of the contract(s) of lease executed by EMDC (for 20 years as admitted by Atty. Gonzalo T. Duque) and PhilHealth be subpoenaed and investigated by this Honorable Office."
"Based on reliable information, we learned that in 2017, respondent Atty. Gonzalo T. Duque in his present capacity as commissioner of the SSS acted as a representative of the SSS administrator at the board of directors of PhilHealth," the motion read.
"Not only that, reliable information also reached us that Atty. Gonzalo T. Duque already sat as one of the board of directors of PhilHealth even prior to his appointment as SSS commissioner," it stated.
Moreover, the complainants cited "considering the foregoing Atty. Gonzalo T. Duque at the time that he was sitting as a board of director of PhilHealth, having failed to divest his substantial shares of stocks with EMDC to which PhilHealth had a contract of lease, may also be held liable…"
On June 21, Hedia and company filed a joint complaint-affidavit against the Department of Health chief for plunder, graft, and violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical
Standard for Public Officials and Employees for conflict of interest.
Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier disclosed that PhilHealth's Region 1 had rented a building owned by the EMDC in Tapuac District, Dagupan City, Pangasinan from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2018.
The company's general information sheet showed Duque III was among the eight stockholders, four of them had a surname of Duque.
The senator said he would soon reveal another alleged plunder issue, "bigger and worse," against Duque.
Last July 1, the complainants filed a supplemental complaint-affidavit
against lawyer Gonzalo Duque for plunder, graft, and violation of RA6713.