CA sets another hearing for Ubial’s nomination as DOH chief

Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial faced the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) for the first time on Wednesday in a bid to secure congressional approval on her appointment made by President Rodrigo Duterte last year.

Ubial, however, has to contend with opposition from ACTS OFW party-list Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III, Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque, and lawyer Restituto Mendoza before the CA decides on her nomination.

In fact, the CA health committee had to schedule another hearing since Wednesday's session only focused on discussions on Roque's complaint.

Roque said Ubial must not be confirmed as he accused her of incompetence, "persistent" lying to Congress, wastage of government resources, and corruption.

The neophyte lawmaker said Ubial failed to correctly assess the status of Zika virus infection in the country, attempted to stop the dengue vaccine implementation in favor of anti-pneumonia vaccination, and turned a blind eye to the issue of fraudulent claims at the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

He added Ubial made "excessive" foreign trips and that her 111 appointments to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center had been invalidated due to lack of qualification and competence of the appointees.

In response, Ubial said she did not lie about the Zika virus situation. She said there was no confirmed case at the time when she declared the country Zika-free last September which was contradicted by her deputies days later.

The Cabinet official said it was not within the power of the DOH Secretary to decide whether to continue with the dengue vaccination program as this was delegated to an expert panel.

As for corruption allegations, Ubial took pride in instituting a whistleblower policy at PhilHealth and filing "several"  administrative and fraud charges against some Philhealth personnel.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, clarified that his reservations on Ubial's nomination had nothing to do with his opposition to the Reproductive Health Law.

"As a matter of fact, none of my questions will be related to the Reproductive Health [Law]," he said.

Emotional

In her opening speech, Ubial turned emotional as she vowed not to fail President Rodrigo Duterte and the Filipino people.

"I shall not back down and be disheartened in my commitment to the President and to the Filipino people and my DOH [Department of Health] family," Ubial said. "He has placed his trust and confidence in me and I will not fail him nor the Filipino people."

Ubial has been in government for 28 years, starting out as a volunteer health worker in Kidapawan City before rising through the ranks. She was DOH assistant secretary when Duterte appointed her to the Cabinet post in July last year.

Her advocacies include mental health, women and children’s health, and tobacco control.

"I rose from the ranks because my superiors had consistently recognize my commitment, dedication and quest for openly fighting corruption. Along the way I have gained the approbation of my clients, peers and bosses but certainly I have gained a lot of detractors also," Ubial said.

"My strict approach to governance has unfortunately earned some enemies along the way. However I chose not to let this bother me as I continue to do what I see is right for both the Department and the Philippines."

No date has been set for Ubial's next appearance at the CA. — RSJ, GMA News