Philippine health ministry says no corruption in US$1.3bil pandemic funds

A health worker vaccinates a public transport driver with Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine in a shopping mall's parking lot turned into a drive-thru vaccination site, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, Aug 13, 2021. - Reuters

MANILA, Aug 14 (Reuters): The Philippine health minister, facing questions over more than US$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.