BBM NOT KEEN ON HEALTH, DEFENSE CHIEFS YET

PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is unlikely to appoint new heads of the Departm.ent of Health (DoH) and the Department of National Defense (DND) soon, saying he is satisfied with the performance of the two agencies’ officers in charge.

“Let’s be patient. Basta’t na … Ako, ang concern ko lang ‘yung kailangang gawin na trabaho, nagagawa. So far naman, nagagawa (My only concern is so long as they are doing their job, they stay. So far, they are able to do their job),” Marcos told reporters in a chance interview in Quezon City, pertaining to Maria Rosario Vergeire and Jose Faustino Jr., officers in charge of the DoH and DND, respectively.

“Wala pa kaming DoH. Wala pa kaming i-nominate (We have not yet nominated someone for DoH secretary). [Undersecretary] Vergeire is doing a fine job. So we let her do [the work for now] kasi we are still not out of the pandemic so we have to continue to be careful,” the President added.

Meanwhile, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, said that it is Marcos’ prerogative to appoint a full-fledged Health secretary and that he is confident of Vergeire’s capability to lead the DoH.

“That is the prerogative of President Marcos to appoint. I am confident in the capability of OIC Secretary Rosette Vergeire to lead the agency, during the start of the pandemic until now, she is still there focused on her duty,” Go said.

Marcos earlier said he will only appoint a Health secretary once the Covid-19 situation in the country has normalized.

The President has vouched for the competence of Faustino who could only serve as the DND officer in charge because of a one-year appointment ban.

Faustino, who served as the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, reached mandatory retirement age on Nov. 12, 2021.

“Sa DND, no, I think happy ako with the situation as it is now. We’ll see (I think I’m happy with the situation in the DND as it is now. We’ll see),” the President said.

“These things are revisited especially every year at the end of the first year. I don’t think that’s a secret to everyone that at the end of the first year, ‘yung mga ibang kandidato (the other candidates), they will now join the mix of possible nominees,” he added.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin earlier said that Marcos is taking his time in choosing the new head of the Department of Agriculture, whose portfolio the chief executive currently handles.

“The President is seriously considering several people to appoint on a permanent basis or regular basis who will represent or minister the DA portfolio. But he has not yet signified to us that he is ready to announce his decision,” Bersamin said.