The President did not offer DOH OIC Vergeire the post of health secretary and she will serve the government until her retirement.
Career executive, Ma. Rosario Vergeire, who serves as Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge, confessed she was never offered the top post of the department but explained her reservations about the position (which is good only for six years) as against her many more years to serve it before retiring.
When assigned as its OIC, Vergeire said she admitted to the President having reservations about accepting such an appointment.
“Honestly, it was not offered. I was asked to be an OIC. I was able to explain to them also my reservations and he just said, ‘You just continue to do the work and we will discuss further,’” Inquirer quoted Vergeire.
“I have been here for almost three decades already, and I am a career official. So, if we have a term, such as the case of a DOH chief, it’s only six years. And by the time I finish the six years, I still have years left to serve. And I want to still serve until I retire,” she added.
Vergeire said she has been with DoH almost 30 years and intends to continue serving the public until she retires or beyond the administration's six-year tenure.
“We just wait for the decision of the President. The work would continue whether we get the secretary post or not,” she continued.
She defends Cascolan as DoH Usec
Vergeire backed the appointment of former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Camilo Cascolan as undersecretary saying he is “very qualified” based on his credentials, GMA News reported.
“Ang sa atin na lang po, paano ba mas makakatulong ang mga taong naa-appoint at pinapasok sa kagawaran natin. So, let’s see. Hindi pa natin nakikita, hindi pa natin nasususbukan. Makikita ho natin ‘yan,” she replied on questions about Cascolan not having a medicine or public health background.
“Lahat naman po ay bibigyan natin din syempre ng opportunity at binigyan sila ng ganitong appointment ng ating Presidente. We will be assigning him kung saan ang proper naman dito para makatulong din siya sa Kagawaran ng Kalusugan,” she continued.
Cascolan’s appointment has been met with criticisms, with the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) and ACT Teacher's party-list Representative France Castro said it was an "insult to" and a "slap in the face of" experts who are more qualified for the position.
The retired police general defended himself, saying his expertise in emergency response, network, and experience will "play a great role in bringing health closer to the people."
Tags: #DOH, #Vergeire, #Appointment