Dr Tony Leachon named DOH ‘special adviser’

Tony Leachon. SCREENGRAB from Dr. Tony Leachon’s Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa Jr. has appointed Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon as the agency’s Special Adviser for Non-Communicable Diseases.

Herbosa said Leachon, an internist and a cardiologist, will greatly help the agency in its reforms and initiatives.

“With the aid of Dr. Leachon, we will ensure that Bawat Pilipino, ramdam ang kalusugan dahil sa Healthy Pilipinas, bawat buhay mahalaga (Every Filipino feels healthy because with a Healthy Pilipinas, every life is important),” Herbosa said in a statement posted Friday on the DOH’s official Facebook page.

Leachon was a special adviser to the National Task Force against COVID-19 in 2020, during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.

But he resigned, citing differences with DOH policies and its alleged lack of urgency and management at the height of the pandemic.

“I left NTF due to my differences with DOH policies e.g., Lack of sense of urgency, problems in COVID data management, and transparency in the communication process. That’s life. That’s how it is. There’s a silver lining, though. Thank you very much,” Leachon said in a tweet on June 2020.

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