Maria Rosario Vergeire—NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire will stay onboard as the officer in charge (OIC) of the Department of Health (DOH) even after the end of the month as her appointment is not covered by the memorandum circulars issued by the Office of the President (OP). In a press briefing on Tuesday, Vergeire clarified that she was “not affected” by the first three memos released by the OP in relation to appointments of OIC in departments and agencies in the executive branch where no successor has been named because she was a career executive. Under the latest memorandum circular, OICs as well as noncareer executive officials (Ceso) occupying Ceso posts “in holdover capacity” are ordered to “perform their duties” and “discharge their functions” by Dec. 31, 2022, or until a replacement has been designated. A career health official, Vergeire had been at the DOH for almost three decades.