A doctor’s group stated Wednesday that the future Department of Health (DOH) Secretary under presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration should be someone who is “practicing.”
“Well, I think we need somebody who really knows, who really has the knowledge when it comes to healthcare, so he has to be practicing,” Philippine College of Physicians president Dr. Maricar Limpin told ANC’s “Rundown.”
“Because you know, having a head of the health department who does not really have a feel of what is happening on the ground, then we will really have problems when we do encounter health crisis like this,” she added.
Limpin also stated that the country’s next health chief should have a significant background in public health.
“Also, he or she should also know something about health promotion. You know health promotion has been left on the background and because we are so poor or are so weak on health promotion, we see a lot of health problems arising.”
“And we cannot also do anything about you know, one of the highest cause of mortality in the country which is non-communicable diseases,” she noted.
The doctor expressed her optimism that the future administration will eradicate the country’s COVID-19 pandemic.
Next DOH chief should be ‘practicing’ – doctor’s group
“We are hopeful that we will be able to put an end to this pandemic, so maybe really have the realization of…looking at this as something similar to flu,” Limpin said. “But we need to put into place certain interventions or certain measures to strengthen the healthcare system.”
Limpin stated that the government must address the outflow of nurses from the country and ensure that the Universal Healthcare Law is appropriately implemented.
Marcos Jr. has not yet announced his choice for DOH Secretary. However, Sara Duterte-Carpio, the presumptive vice president, has agreed to run the Department of Education. At the same time, Benhur Abalos, Marcos Jr.’s campaign manager, will lead the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Former Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma and overseas Filipino worker advocate Susan “Toots” Ople have been offered Cabinet positions by Marcos’ team.
Now that the DOH has confirmed the local transmission of omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1, Limpin believes it would only be a matter of time until more COVID-19 cases are reported.