“Duque seems more interested in banning pyrotechnics instead of giving the public the real score about the ASF virus and the human consumption of pork in the Philippines.

What’s the matter with Health Secretary Francisco Duque III?

Earlier this week, Duque was at the Dagupan City office of the Department of Health (DoH) to launch the agency’s “Iwas Paputok” or anti-firecrackers campaign. He urged Congress to enact a law which will totally ban the use of pyrotechnics in the country. He said all firecrackers, legal or otherwise, can cause injuries.

Duque’s announcement was obviously in anticipation of this year’s celebration of New Year’s Eve in the country, which is traditionally marked by pyrotechnics like firecrackers and public fireworks displays.

In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order 28 which prohibits the use of firecrackers, but which allows public fireworks displays undertaken by local government units on special occasions. The President also directed the Philippine National Police to crack down on illegal manufacturers and vendors of pyrotechnics.

Duque’s call for a total ban on pyrotechnics in the Philippines may be warranted in the name of public safety, but it is ill-timed, impractical and apparently designed for his personal publicity.

As of this writing, New Year’s Eve is less than a month away, and with Congress expected to take a long break for the yuletide season, there is simply not enough time for Congress to enact a total ban against pyrotechnics before the end of 2019.

Then there is the constitutional requirement that the president must sign the proposed legislation, followed by the statutory requirement that the draft law must be published in a newspaper of general circulation. In addition, there is the requirement that at least a month must lapse before the law can take effect.

In other words, Duque’s call for Congress for a total ban on pyrotechnics is an ill-timed pipe dream.

Duque had all of 2019 to lobby with Congress and get his proposal enacted. Instead of doing so, he allowed the months to slip by idly. Now, just weeks before the new year, he wants Congress to embody his idea into legislation.

Regarding the practical aspect of Duque’s proposal, the Health secretary ought to know the difference between firecrackers on one hand, and public fireworks displays on the other.

Because of their relatively diminutive sizes, firecrackers can easily fall into the hands of irresponsible users, and often lead to burns and injuries. That reason is enough to ban firecracker use.

On the other hand, public fireworks displays held under the strict supervision of local government authorities are relatively safe and add color and dimension to the celebration of important national holidays. The safety record of public fireworks displays in the country has been quite impressive.

To all intents and purposes, therefore, Duque’s pipe dream to ban all pyrotechnics looks more like an attempt to attract publicity of the positive kind.

That’s understandable, considering that Duque’s DoH has been repeatedly under intense criticism for a large part of 2019.

Last June, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was in the news after employees of a dialysis center exposed a large-scale racket involving bogus money claims for inexistent dialysis treatments, and which were routinely approved by some DoH officials who were in on the scam.

PhilHealth is a government agency operating under the DoH. As the Health secretary, Duque is the ex-officio board chairman of PhilHealth.

That same month, Sen. Panfilo Lacson accused Duque of conflict of interest. According to Lacson, PhilHealth rented a building in Dagupan City owned by Duque’s family. Duque and PhilHealth denied the accusation.

So far, both controversies remain unresolved.

Last September, the DoH was back in the news when Duque’s underling, Undersecretary Enrique Domingo, announced that pork contaminated with the African swine fever (ASF) is safe to eat by humans. How he arrived at that conclusion, Domingo has not disclosed.

The stealth by which the DoH has been treating the ASF issue is unsettling in the light of an announcement made by the World Health Organization that a virus can mutate to a stronger, more resistant strain inside a human host.

Duque seems more interested in banning pyrotechnics instead of giving the public the real score about the ASF virus and the human consumption of pork in the Philippines.