Faces of the News: Maria Rosario Vergeire

Hers is the calm and steady voice lending reason and sobriety to these anxious times.

While some government officials have betrayed impatience and sound defensive when asked probing and sometimes inconvenient questions by the media, Health Assistant Secretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire has always come across as unflappable, a doctor clinically giving information with a scientist’s firm, confident and comforting grasp of facts.

Vergeire has a master’s degree in public health, which might explain her almost deadpan reaction to even intimidating questions on COVID-19, knowing fully well how the country’s health system responds to crisis.

Whatever it is, Vergeire’s winning combination of knowledge, government experience and placid disposition makes her the best spokesperson on the subject of COVID-19, when public trust becomes the crucial glue to keep people together just as things start to fall apart.