MANILA, Philippines — The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAPI) is endorsing National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa to head the Department of Health (DOH) under the Marcos administration.
PHAPI President Dr. Rene De Grano on Thursday said they have recommended Herbosa to President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the next DOH chief.
“Sa aming hanay — mayroong mga hospitals, medical societies, even the PMA — mayroon kaming nire-recommend, hopefully siya ang tanggapin ng ating President-elect Marcos na siya ang gawing Secretary of Health but of course, the final decision ay sa kanya pa rin,” De Grano said in a public briefing.
(In our field, we are recommending someone and hopefully, he will be chosen by our President-elect as Health Secretary but of course he has the final decision.)
“Ang aming nire-recommend ay si Dr. Ted Herbosa,” he said.
(We are recommending Dr. Ted Herbosa.)
De Grano, however, did not explain why Herbosa is their choice.
Marcos has yet to pick his DOH Secretary but he has already revealed some of his chosen Cabinet members.
Besides being a Special Adviser of the NTF, Herbosa was recently appointed as Member of the Board of PhilHealth before accepting the post as Chairman, Emergency Medicine at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital.
In 2021, Herbosa left his post as University of The Philippines’ vice president after receiving criticism online for a controversial post involving the community pantry launched by actress Angel Locsin.