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PNoy accepts DOH chief Ona’s resignation


(Updated 5:19 p.m.) President Benigno Aquino III has accepted Health Secretary Enrique Ona's resignation, Malacañang announced Friday.
 
"Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr., informed Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona that the President has accepted his resignation effective today," Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear why Ona, who was appointed to the DOH after Aquino’s election to the presidency in 2010, quit his post and when he submitted his resignation letter.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is currently probing why the DOH, under Ona’s watch, purchased the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine 10 (PVC-10) instead of the reportedly more cost-effective PCV-13 two years ago.

In his affidavit submitted to the NBI, Ona said purchasing the PCV-10 actually resulted in savings for the government.

Late last month, Ona submitted a report to Aquino on the supposedly questionable purchase of vaccines. Malacañang has repeatedly said during the past weeks that the President is still studying the voluminous report.

Aquino earlier admitted that he asked Ona to go on leave to explain the alleged irregularities in the procurement of the PV-1O vaccines. Ona initially said he went on medical leave due to “personal” reasons, including an allergic reaction to a hair dye he used.

When Ona’s initial leave lapsed, Malacañang announced that Ona decided to extend his leave, after talking with Ochoa.

Assistant Secretary Janette Garin served as acting DOH chief while Ona was on leave. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News
 
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