President Ferdinand Marcos Jr clarified why he made former police chief Camilo Cascolan the undersecretary of the Department of Health — something that is being criticized especially since he was never a healthcare worker.
It was only Sunday that the department confirmed the appointment of the former head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to the position, according to the appointment letter dated October 19.
“Gen. Cascolan, we put him there because he has to look at, of course he’s not a doctor,” Bongbong said in a press briefing, Wednesday.
“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 DOH.”
Cascolan is not known as a doctor, nurse, dentist or anything else. However, he was one of the masterminds of Oplan Tokhang and Oplan Double Barrel — the bloody anti-drug campaign that killed more than 6,252.
Alliance of Health Workers, Rights, and other progressive groups questioned Cascolan’s appointment as DOH chief, especially since there are more and more who deserve the position. He said it was also disappointing, especially since he was said to be an expert in extrajudicial killings and not in health.
President Marcos defends appointment of Cascolan as DOH chief
Despite this, Cascolan said that the DOH would benefit from his skills in emergency response, management and networking. The former PNP chief has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of the Philippines-Visayas.
“We talk about rightsizing, we talk about structural changes [when it comes to Cascolan],” Marcos added.
“We need somebody to examine what has been going on: ano ‘yung maganda, ano ‘yung hindi maganda, ano ‘yung pwedeng mas maayos. That will be his function. Kaya special concerns.”
Marcos is doing this even though former President Rodrigo Duterte was criticized for placing military and generals in the leadership of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to some groups, it seems that Bongbong is just continuing the militaristic approach when it comes to problems related to public health.
All this happens while the DOH still does not have a formal secretary. Maria Rosario Vergeire is still the current officer in charge of the department.
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