‘Inappropriate’ to ask Marcos why there’s still no DOH chief, says Vergeire

Amid the rising number of COVID-19 and dengue cases in the country, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Thursday said that it is “really inappropriate” to ask President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. why he has still not appointed the next Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH).

“Hindi naman natin pwede ring tanungin. It’s really inappropriate for us to ask the President why it’s taking long for him. Naiintindihan po natin ang proseso ng ating Presidente at ng kanilang mga opisyales doon na talagang mahirap talagang pumili ng ating mga opisyales dahil kailangan pong maging masusi ang pagpili kaya mas nagiging matagal pa,” Vergeire said during a DOH briefing.

(We can't ask him. It’s really inappropriate for us to ask the President why it’s taking long for him to appoint. We understand the process of our President and the officials there that it is really difficult to choose our officials because they have to be deliberate in their choices so it takes even longer.)

“It is also not expected from our President to explain to our officials from the DOH as to kung kailan siya magsasabi kung kailan siya mag-a-appoint dahil klaro naman po na meron siyang pinalabas, ang kanilang opisina na MC [memorandum circular], ‘yung circular number 1, kung saan nakalagay na doon kung ano ang dapat gawin ng bawat ahensya saka-sakaling wala pa silang appointed official,” she added.

(It is also not expected from our President to explain to our officials from the DOH as to when he should say who will be appointed because it is clear through the MC number 1 what each agency should do in case they do not have an appointed official yet.)

According to MC Number 1, “vacancy in the heads of departments, offices, agencies and bureaus where no replacement has been appointed or designated, shall be filled up by the next-in-rank and most senior official as Officer-in-Charge (OIC).”

“The OIC shall perform the duties and discharge the responsibilities of the office until 31 July 2022, or until a replacement has been appointed or designated, whichever comes first,” it read.

GMA News Online has also reached out to the Palace on the question of the leadership of the Health department.

DOH earlier stated that its current pandemic response protocols “continue to be implemented” and everything is "status quo" until Marcos indicates who the next DOH Secretary will be to succeed Francisco Duque III.

The agency also said that the country’s COVID-19 and non-COVID response actions continue through senior DOH officials supervising its specific bureaus, offices, and units.

Based on its Department Personnel Order No. 2022-2357, DOH said that Undersecretary Lilibeth David leads the Health Policy & Systems Development Team and the Health Facilities and Infrastructure Development Team; Undersecretary Abdullah Dumama leads the Field Implementation & Coordination Team and the Health Regulation Team; and Undersecretary Carolina Taino leads the Administration & Financial Management Team and the Procurement & Supply Chain Management Team.

Vergeire, meanwhile, oversees the Public Health Services Team and the Office of the Chief of Staff. — BM, GMA News