Palace coy about details of Ona leave

MANILA, Philippines—Is a disagreement on the management of the Department of Health the only reason for Health Secretary Enrique Ona’s sudden leave of absence?

Malacañang on Tuesday wouldn’t say, merely referring to President Benigno Aquino III’s comments the day before.

“‘Yung transcript (ng interview) mismo, nandoon na lahat, ano. Ang Pangulo na mismo ang nagsabi at ang period ng pagkakaroon ng official leave ay inaakalang magiging sapat para maipaliwanag ang lahat ng mga isyu,'” Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said when asked if Ona was facing corruption allegations.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona. FILE PHOTO

(The transcript of the interview shows all his answers. The President himself said that the official leave should be sufficient to allow the Secretary to answer all of the issues.)

“Hinihintay niya (Aquino) ‘yung paliwanag dahil nais niyang magkaroon ng clarification regarding certain issues on the implementation of public health policy,” he added.

(Aquino is waiting for the explanation because he wants to clarify certain issues on the implementation of public health policy.)

Coloma said the President wanted to prioritize preventive activities to also reduce costs for the curative aspects of public health.

Aquino on Monday said that he has been telling Ona that the agency’s mission should be to ensure that illnesses are prevented. On the other hand, Ona has been urging him to spend on the improvements of hospitals.

The President said he particularly asked Ona about the immunization program for the youth and that the Secretary himself asked for enough time to answer his questions.

A media report earlier said that Ona was forced to take a leave after he asked for a P600-million budget for the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) and amid corruption allegations in the procurement of vaccines and rehabilitation of health facilities.

Aquino said he explained to Ona that his budget proposal for the RITM, in light of the Ebola outbreak, should undergo the budget process.

Asked about Aquino’s decision to appoint Health Undersecretary Janette Garin to temporarily head the agency, Coloma said, “Lahat po ng mga kagawaran sa executive branch ay nasa ilalim ng liderato at pangangasiwa ng Pangulo. Kaya tama lang po na siya ang nagpapasya hinggil sa mga bagay na ‘yan.”

(All agencies under the executive branch are under the leadership and administration of the President. So it is right for him to decide on such matters.)

Before Aquino’s explanation, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Ona filed for a leave because of health reasons.

But Coloma said Lacierda only echoed information given to him by Garin.

“Wala naman pong ikinukubli o itinatagong detalye hinggil diyan. Ang sinabi ng Pangulo ay paglilinaw hinggil doon sa aspect ng administrative process na pinagdaraanan ngayon ni Secretary Ona,” he added.

(We are not hiding the details about that. What the President said was a clarification on the administrative process that Secretary Ona was undergoing.)

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