PhilHealth chief to replace Dayrit

President Arroyo named Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) chief Francisco Duque III yesterday as her new health secretary, but denied she was doing it as political payback.

"You see, I don’t appoint as a matter of political payback, I appoint as a matter of what I need for governance," the President said.

Duque, who replaces Manuel Dayrit whose resignation takes effect on May 31, also denied his appointment had anything to do with politics, saying he had a solid track record.

"Give me a chance to prove my worth," Duque said amid insinuations that he earned the post because of his role in Mrs. Arroyo’s successful presidential bid last year.

As PhilHealth chief, Duque was responsible for the distribution of PhilHealth cards to indigents in the May 2004 presidential elections.

"There is no political debt here. What is important is if you are qualified to handle the post. At the end of the day, it is the qualification that counts and political debt is no longer important," he said in a telephone interview.

Duque will make history at the Department of Health (DOH) by becoming the first health secretary whose father was himself a health secretary. Dr. Francisco Duque Jr. was the health chief from 1961 to 1963 during the presidency of Mrs. Arroyo’s father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal.

"My father’s brand of public service was really great and he was truly dedicated. So I think that‘s why the President trusts me too," Duque said.

Health plans

Duque thanked Mrs. Arroyo for his appointment and said that when he assumes office on June 1, he plans to meet with health officials to get their positions on certain issues.

"They may have something to say that can guide us in making decisions," he said.

Duque said he plans to initiate four reforms, including the improvement of hospitals nationwide; the strengthening of various public health programs of the DOH; the review of the regulatory functions of the DOH, particularly one of its attached agencies, the Bureau of Food and Drugs; and the expansion of the health insurance program to more Filipinos.

The 48-year-old Duque graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila in 1982 and has earned a master of science degree in pathology from Georgetown University in Washington, DC in 1987. He also took a post-graduate course on executive education on health program management at the Harvard University School of Public Health and the Graduate School of Management in Boston, Massachusetts.

A native of Pangasinan, Duque became a director of the University of Pangasinan and executive vice president and chairman of the board of the Lyceum-Northwestern University in Dagupan City and chairman of the board of the Georgetown Club of the Philippines Foundation.

On March 2, 2001, Duque was appointed undersecretary of the DOH until he was transferred to PhilHealth on June 18, 2001.

The new health chief maintained that he plans to replicate at the DOH the successes of PhilHealth under his leadership. He boasts of increasing PhilHealth’s collection from P8.7 billion in 2001 to P16 billion last year and enrolling 5.9 million families in PhilHealth last year.

A militant group of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), however, expressed dismay over Duque’s appointment to the health department.

"This is another bare-faced example of President Arroyo’s political playback," Migrante sectoral party chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado said, insisting that Duque is not worthy to replace Dayrit.

Migrante has been at odds with Duque since controversies hounded the OFW health-care program of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Migrante charged that as PhilHealth chief, Duque transferred to the agency over P530 million from the OFW Medicare Trust fund of OWWA in March 2004.

In a statement released to the media, Bragas-Regalado said that the transfer was made possible through Executive Order (EO) 392 signed by Mrs. Arroyo, which Duque himself initiated.

Migrante was also appalled by Duque’s declaration that PhilHealth’s P520 million losses due to padded or fake insurance claims constitute only about four percent of PhilHealth’s P52 billion earnings.

"Something is definitely wrong with Duque if P520 million of PhilHealth’s funds get lost to fraudulent claims. Claims can be assessed with top-level approval. Most likely, there is a syndicate lurking within PhilHealth," Bragas-Regalado said.

According to Migrante, however, Duque explained that the losses were "significantly lower than the 33 percent losses in fraudulent claims of Medicare," PhilHealth’s forerunner.

"It shows that we can be better at managing funds compared to Medicare and OWWA," Duque was quoted as saying.

Dayrit’s advice

Dayrit, who will stay on until the end of the month, had one unsolicited piece of advice for his successor: "Don’t politicize the DOH."

In a radio interview, Dayrit said the health department is a professional organization and should be spared from politicking.

"Alagaan mo ang organisasyon. Huwag mong ipulitika. Huwag kang maglaro ng politics in a professional organization (Take care of the organization. Don’t get involved in politics. Don’t play politics in a professional organization)," Dayrit told his successor.

While he thinks he did his best as health chief, Dayrit admitted feeling frustrated when health was not considered a priority of local officials who are supposed to deliver services.

He also said another frustration was the limited resources allotted to health.

"As health secretary, you should balance those weaknesses with the potential of improving the service even if you are constrained," Dayrit said.

In announcing Duque’s appointment during a Malacañang press briefing, Mrs. Arroyo also confirmed an impending Cabinet revamp but said she was "not ready to announce anything now."

Meanwhile yesterday, House appropriations committee chairman Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. pushed for the appointment of either of two former lawmakers to head the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

"Former Sen. Orlando Mercado and former Rep. Eduardo Nachura are extremely qualified to assume the post vacated by Fr. Rolando de la Rosa. Either of the two can hack it. Each has faced far greater challenges in the past, so this assignment will be a breeze for either of them," he said.

De la Rosa gave up his post allegedly due to interference from Malacañang and congressmen.

Andaya noted both Mercado and Nachura have strong academic backgrounds. Mercado taught mass communications at the University of the Philippines and Maryknoll College, while Nachura taught law at San Beda College. — Aurea Calica, Shiela Crisostomo, Mayen Jaymalin, Jess Diaz