Long overdue: First DOH secretary appointed since Marcos presidency

..BY IRISH BAGUIO

Teodoro Herbosa appointed by Marcos as the Department of Health (DOH) post chief officer on June 5, almost a year after he took over the presidency.

Amidst health emergency due to COVID-19, Marcos only appointed Officers-in-charge in the name of Maria Rosario Vergerie and designated Camilo Cascolan, former DOH underscretary and Philippine National Police director, respectively.

Marcos said in a released statement last October 20 that he will only appoint a secretary if the COVID-19 situation will get better.

“[F]or now, I say, we are looking for ways so that we can normalize [the situation] and we don’t have to say that the Philippines is still in a state of calamity.”

First Trial

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire was appointed by Marcos as the department’s officer-in-charge (OIC) on June 30, 2022. Vergeire led the monitoring of the department for the month of July. However, Vergeire’s role as the health department’s OIC was extended for 10 months as per (memo).

Vegeire led the DOH in reporting the country's COVID-19 situation. Alongside, she was the primary person who handled Denue, Measles, and Polio programs for public health. She also stated on October 28 that she does not see many differences between an officer-in-charge's and a health secretary's responsibilities.

"I don't find any difference or I do not see any difficulties in just being an OIC. Because the authority provided to me has led us to continue with all of our services and operations. No disruptions at all," Vergeire said in a press briefing.

During the 6th month of Vergeire’s duty on January 31, she stated that she was ready to be appointed as the country’s health secretary. Vergeire had stated that despite the DOH secretary position being empty for about four months since Marcos took office, he had not extended an offer to her. She acknowledged that she had doubts about leading the division.

“This will be a process, where I can discuss this with the President, that I am now ready to be appointed, if and when that would be his decision. But he doesn’t need to approach me and ask me to be the health secretary. I will be the one who would tell him and talk to him,” Vergeire said.

However, President Marcos has not yet named a permanent health secretary to lead the nation out of the COVID-19 issue, despite being several months into his presidency. According to the critics, this reveals the government's objectives.

“Critics comment”

Second Trial

In November 7 of the last year, the health department officially announced that Camilo Cascolan, a former PNP director, had taken an oath to serve as one of the organization's undersecretaries.

The gap at the DOH became more apparent after Marcos chose a retired police general as health undersecretary. In response to criticism that he selected a person without any background in health, Marcos stated that the nation's former police chief will investigate the "special concerns" as well as other DOH duties including rightsizing and structural adjustments. He claimed that anyone may conduct an "administrative audit" of the organization; one need not be a physician.

Marcos Jr’s appointment of Cascolan as undersecretary of DOH was previously criticized by the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), which stated that it was a “clear manifestation of the President’s extreme lack of concern for the lives, health, safety and welfare of the health workers and the entire Filipino nation.”

According to the AHW, Cascolan wrote Oplan Tokhang under the Duterte administration, and they want to work with an undersecretary who has "a clean track record, not a red-tagger, one whose hands are not tainted with the bloody drug war and one who truly upholds the rule of justice."

"Thus, AHW asserted that Cascolan's appointment runs counter to DOH mandate of ensuring the provision of quality health service that every Filipino people deserves and in upholding the quality of life, respect for human dignity and protect the health and safety of the health workers and the Filipino people," AHW said.

Final Trial

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Teodoro Herbosa as head of the Department of Health (DOH), in a meeting in Malacañang last June 5.

Having previously advised the government's COVID-19 task team, Herbosa is not new to the DOH. However, he has encountered some controversy. After sharing a Facebook post making light of rape in 2020, Herbosa made a formal apology and promised to receive gender sensitivity training.

Herbosa received backlash for a tweet that said "death by community pantry" in April 2021. His comments were in response to the passing away of an old man who was in line for a community pantry in Quezon City that had been set up by the actress Angel Locsin. Community pastries were created to help the nation's poorest citizens to access an inexpensive food supply, which was a result of the pandemic's effects on the economy.

Following that statement, Herbosa made a public apology and later announced his resignation from his position at the University of the Philippines.

DOH Undersecretary Vergeire stated after Herbosa’s appointment that they would offer unwavering support throughout the transition.

"Maasahan ng ating bagong kalihim, Secretary Ted, ang taos-pusong suporta ng buong DOH family," Vergeire said.