Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Health Secretary Ted Herbosa. | PHOTOS FROM SENATE PRIB AND RICHARD A. REYES OF INQUIRER
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has likened Health Secretary Ted Herbosa to Pontius Pilate for supposedly washing his hands over the issue of locked health centers in Makati City.
Cayetano’s wife, Lani, is the mayor of Taguig City, which currently has control over the 10 “enlisted men’s barrios” (Embos) previously under the jurisdiction of Makati City.
“I want to be respectful but I’ll tell you whats’ in my heart. We thought you were a Solomon na when two mayors with conflicting claims come to you and they say hatiin na lang yung bata—’yung isa sabihin, ‘wag hatiin, ‘yung isa sabihin sige hatiin, you’d be a Solomon, and kampihan mo ‘yung nagsabing ‘wag hatiin kasi ‘yun ang tunay na nanay e,” the senator said.
(I want to be respectful but I’ll tell you what’s in my heart. We thought you were a Solomon that when two mayors with conflicting claims come to you and they say let’s divide the child—one would say, ‘Don’t divide it,’ the other would say, ‘Go ahead and divide it—you’d be a Solomon, and side with the one who said, ‘Don’t divide it,’ because that’s the real mother.)
“And what did you become? Not a Solomon. You became a Pontius Pilate, naghugas kayo ng kamay (you washed your hands),” Cayetano added during the Senate plenary discussions on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Health on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
READ: Makati, Taguig press dispute over ‘Embo’ health facilities
Before making these remarks, the senator confronted Herbosa for not fulfilling his promise to take care of the Embo residents affected by Makati’s decision to close its health facilities in the area, which were built using city funds.
Cayetano reminded Herbosa that when they talked in September 2023, he specifically told the health chief to follow the law.
“I’ll help you get confirmed muna (first) but make sure that the people of Embo do not suffer,” he said, recalling their conversation.
“The next thing I heard you were on radio, saying wala kang magawa kaya ang gagawin mo na lang you will give mobile clinic, you will give medicines, you will give people to help kasi y’ung isang nag co-commercial na better daw ang Makati, ang totoo bitter hindi better kasi kinandado lahat ng health centers,” said the senator.
(The next thing I heard, you were on the radio saying that you can do nothing about it, so what you will do is give a mobile clinic, you will give medicines, you will give people to help because someone who is doing a commercial said Makati is better. The truth is, it’s bitter, not better, because all the health centers were shut down.)
READ: 200,000 ‘Embo’ residents lose yellow card benefits
Cayetano then asked Herbosa: “Did you send one piece of medicine?”
When the health chief answered yes, Cayetano quickly responded: “No, you didn’t Secretary.”
According to the senator, his wife even called Herbosa but was only told to write him her concerns.
Herbosa, however, claimed that the DOH has been helping the Embo patients through the agency’s Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP).
“’Yung napunta sa Hospital ng Makati, sa MAIP ng DOH po sinasagot ‘yun,” he said.
(The ones who went to the Hospital ng Makati, that is covered by the MAIP of the DOH.)
Still, his response did not pacify Cayetano.
NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated.