Dr. Teodoro Ted Herbosa was endorsed as the future secretary of health by the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAPI) on Thursday. He is a member of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19.
The Philippine Medical Association (PMA), according to PHAPI president Dr. Jose de Grano, has also approved Herbosa as the next director of the Department of Health (DOH). This was said at the Laging Handa briefing.
“Sa amin pong mga hanay mayroon pong mga hospitals, different societies, even the PMA, mayroon po kaming nirerecommend and hopefully siya po ang tanggapin ni President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., gawin siyang secretary of Health,” De Grano said.
(There are hospitals, different societies, even the PMA we recommend, and hopefully, President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will accept him as the next Health secretary.)
“Pero of course the final decision ay sa kanila pa rin po. At ‘yun po ang aming nirerecommend ay si Dr. Ted Herbosa po,” he added.
(Of course, they still have the last say on this matter. Additionally, we recommend Dr. Ted Herbosa.)
The Philippine Orthopaedic Association (POA), meanwhile, has endorsed Dr. Jose Pujalte to serve as the next secretary of health, claiming that the latter guided the POA through difficulties and upheaval during his term.
Dr. Ted Herbosa recommended as next DOH secretary
De Grano stated that they also anticipate the incoming health secretary to be accessible to physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers.
Marcos has not yet named the following DOH secretary.
Prior to accepting the position of chairman of Emergency Medicine at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, Herbosa was recently named as a member of the board of PhilHealth in addition to serving as a special consultant to the (NTF) COVID-19 (PGH).
According to De Grano, most private hospitals have not yet received their One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA).
The DBM previously stated that P7.92 billion had been made available for the compensation of healthcare professionals and other individuals participating in the COVID-19 response.
A number of healthcare professionals claimed that as of 2021, they had not yet received payments for the services they provided during the COVID-19 outbreak.
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