Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines–The return of Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag to his previous designation as Director IV amid the controversies hounding the Department of Health (DOH) “is not a demotion,” Acting Health Secretary Janette Garin said on Thursday.
“Actually, it is a misnomer and misinformation [because]… we just call him ASec Eric,” Garin said.
“It’s not a demotion because his actual position is really Director IV,” she stressed.
She added that the change in Tayag’s designation was part of the streamlining of the DOH’s organizational structure.
She said there were clamors from several officials to fix the DOH organizational structure.
“Sometimes it creates confusion since there are some assistant secretaries who are assistant secretaries by career,” Garin said. “We did this with consultation.”
“Doc Tayag was even one of those (directors) who volunteered to me to remove [the title] ASec because he said he was not really an ASec,” Garin explained.
Tayag and Health Secretary Enrique Ona are among the health officials being investigated for the alleged anomalous DOH purchase of anti-pneumonia vaccines for children.
The probe is being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation as ordered by President Aquino.
Tayag was allegedly the one who ordered the procurement of the PCV-10 instead of the cost-effective PCV-13 for the DOH’s Expanded Vaccination Program.