PBBM must make his stand

Because he kept silent, his gatekeeper fell.

When then presidential spokesman and legal adviser Atty. Vic Rodriguez failed in his bid to be appointed as executive secretary, it was suggested that it was partly due to the mysterious silence of President Bongbong Marcos in the face of attacks from members of the Commission on Appointments.

Several opinion leaders even pointed out that rarely or never was the nomination of an executive secretary ever blocked or shot down, especially when the President strongly endorsed the candidate. Why the President chose to remain silent remains a mystery, hopefully to be revealed after the administration moves out of Malacañang.

Once again, the same scenario may play out with the same Commission passing the nomination for secretary of health – Ted Herbosa. But unlike Atty. Rodriguez, Herbosa is less of a political personality and has spent most of his time at the DOH or part of the academe. That, of course, does not spare one from “political intrigues” and “professional” sabotage from people or sectors who do not agree with his views on medicine and public administration.

From the little I know of Herbosa, he can be testy, short-tempered at times and has had alliances in the DOH that may have made some enemies for himself. But to be fair and as professionalism requires, I need to point out that the nomination and appointment of Herbosa for secretary of health is in relation to the administration of public health and the pursuit of President Bongbong Marcos’ public health agenda.

Whatever opposition or challenges that are being waged by members of the Commission on Appointments and fellow members of Congress and the Senate must be about his ability and integrity to perform the duties of secretary of health and to lead the department in achieving the PBBM health agenda.

Unfortunately, when one gathers the information on the ground, it seems that the by-passing of the nominee is more about “horse trading” than quality selection and screening. I have been wondering why in our post-pandemic reality, Congress would decide to lop off or chop off P10 billion from the proposed DOH budget for development and expansion of public health facilities.

It was our congressman from Batangas Ralph Recto who rang the alarm on this dangerous decision of Congress, given how many public hospitals have remained as-is or deteriorated from use, serving patients beyond their capacities. The amputation defied logic, unless it was being used as a bargaining chip when DOH officials come to the table to get their request reinstated and approved.

The undeniable fact is that the Department of Health and all the public/government hospitals under it serve a very crucial part in the political relevance of congressmen, congresswomen and senators. Every year, hundreds of thousands of indigent Filipinos knock on the doors of their representatives and senators to seek medical and financial assistance in their districts or in Metro Manila.

As a result, these legislators give referrals as well as a form of guarantee to cover a limited amount to pay for part, if not the whole, amount per patient. Having gone around so many government hospitals as a patient, patient relative and friend of physicians, I know that this transactional relationship between Congress and the hospitals is vital but also becomes testy when there are more patients than there are funds.

How cooperative DOH officials are determines the outcome of PR points for legislators with their constituents and voters. For politicians, it is ideal to have a DOH secretary who is humble or politically savvy than a mercurial and blunt official who speaks his mind like Herbosa.

Unfortunately, certain “rumors” have now gotten into the mix of issues. For one, the very public statement of Ted Herbosa against vaping and its serious health threats has apparently run counter to at least two congressmen who have been very public about their support for vaping and the vaping industry. It has been suggested that in order to appease the two congressmen, Herbosa must retract or reword his statement and position on the dangers of vaping.

On this issue, Herbosa automatically gets the support of all public health activists and physicians, even those who hate his guts. Herbosa won’t have to preach to the choir because there is a very strong position and sentiment among physicians and health experts that vaping is more dangerous to your health than cigarette smoking. They can silence one Herbosa but not all health practitioners!

Some have even said that under no circumstance should Herbosa retract or change his position because it will give the pro-vaping congressmen the perfect “proof” that the anti-vaping sector had it wrong, using a “retraction” from the secretary of health. That in turn would lead to serious health risks and injuries to millions of young Filipinos that will partly be blamed on the Herbosa retraction. That, indeed, would be a price too high to pay for anyone, especially Herbosa.

On the political side, I caught wind of yet another “rumor” that part of the bargaining chips on the table, as it were, is a commitment from Herbosa to reshuffle, as in remove, a certain DOH regional medical director from the Visayas. When I inquired what sin or criminal act the DOH-RMD had committed, the reply was: “None.” The agenda was simply to make the regional hospital friendlier to a certain legislator while diminishing the influence and direct access of a political opponent in the region.

With all this politicking and hostage negotiation, I humbly suggest to President Bongbong Marcos to declare his public health agenda and if he believes in Ted Herbosa, then the President should state his pleasure unequivocally. Remember, the silence of the lambs is what gets them eaten by wolves!