DOH officials yet to decide on Cascolan's role, says Vergeire

The Department of Health has yet to finalize former Philippine National Police chief Camilo Cascolan's role at the department following his appointment by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as health undersecretary.

DOH officer in charge made the remark even as she joined in defending Cascolan's appointment to the health department amid criticisms that he was not a health care professional.

Asked what Cascolan's assignment would be at the the DOH, Vergeire said the department had administrative sections and operational services.

"'Yun po 'yung tinitignan natin na maaring appropriate para sa qualifications ni Cascolan. But nothing is final yet, because we still need to finalize our discussions with among us, officials of the DOH,” Vergeire said.

Sought for comment as regards his specific post at the DOH, Cascolan said, "Wala pa po (There's still isn't any)."

Addressing criticisms, Marcos on Wednesday said the retired police general would have administrative functions at the agency.

"It's not health issues that he has to look at, that's why he doesn’t have to be a doctor. He's going to look at the function of the DOH," Marcos told reporters in an ambush interview.

"We talked about rightsizing. We talked about structural changes. 'Yun, we need somebody to examine what has been going on," he added.

Vergeire said that there is a “misconception” that those working under the DOH must be healthcare workers.

She cited as an example a DOH official who is a certified public accountant and has managed the department’s finance section “very well” through the years.

Vergeire said Cascolan had a “very strong” knowledge and capacity in operations upon reviewing his credentials.

“Nakita natin yun he was very strong in his leadership potential among his ranks during the time na nagsisilbi pa siya sa ibang ahensya,” Vergeire said.

(We saw that he was very strong in his leadership potential among his ranks during the time he was still serving in other agencies.)

“Sa tingin ko hindi siya makakasira, hindi rin siya disadvantageous to department. In fact he is going to be additional potential for us para mas maisayos natin ang mga proseso natin sa Kagawaran ng Kalusugan,” she added.

(I don't think he will be a disadvantage to the department. In fact he is going to be an additional potential for us so that we can better organize our processes in the DOH.) —NB, GMA News