Herbosa: Time to call agency ‘Dep’t of Health and Wellness’

Health Sec. Teodoro Herbosa

MANILA, Philippines — Is this still part of the Marcos administration’s rebranding thrust?

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa has proposed that his agency be renamed “Department of Health and Wellness” and the title of its head changed to “Chief Longevity Officer.”

According to Herbosa, these changes will help emphasize that the department’s purpose is not just about combating diseases but also enabling Filipinos to maintain their overall health at all times.

“The framework has changed. Before, when you get sick, you need the DOH. But now, what we want is to also teach the people health promotion, how do you maintain your health,” Herbosa said on Monday in an interview on dwPM.

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Calling the Cabinet member heading the agency chief longevity officer would also emphasize that countries around the world nowadays are focusing on achieving longer lifespans less encumbered by major health issues, he added.

The secretary did not specify how the name change would be implemented, whether by legislation or presidential action.

Still under study

In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Health’s (DOH) spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo, said Herbosa’s proposal was still being studied.

“The proposal to rename the department is a sound idea floated by the secretary, anchored on a broad understanding of the ultimate goal of public health,” Domingo said in a Viber message.

“No less than the World Health Organization, in its charter, defines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’ That is the essence of wellness. We continue to study the proposal further,” he added.

Among the world’s national health agencies, Botswana’s is named “Ministry of Health and Wellness.”

According to its website, the DOH traces its origins to the American-era Board of Health, which became a bureau and later placed under a commissioner. It was renamed the Department of Health and Public Welfare in 1941 and later just the Department of Health in 1947.

It was called the Ministry of Health during the first Marcos administration.