Tag: DOH

Posted on

On the DOH Leadership and the Unpaid Special Risk Allowance of Health Workers

The President should start looking beyond DOH Sec. Francisco Duque III and mind the public sentiment for a change. He was elected by the people whom he has sworn to serve.

Hirap na ang ating mga health workers, na kasama sa mga Pilipinong pinangakuan ng Pangulo na pagsilbihan. Marami sa kanila ay pinagkakaitan ng Special Risk Allowance na nakapaloob sa Bayanihan Act, na Malakanyang mismo ang nakiusap sa amin sa Kongreso na ipasa.

Ang incompetence ay hindi dapat pinapalampas, lalo na sa gitna ng krisis na dulo ng pandemya.

*****

Posted on

On the Issues Raised by COA on the DOH’s Management of COVID-19 Funds

The issue on the DOH’s management of pandemic response funds will definitely be taken up during the deliberations of the DOH’s 2022 budget, once the Senate starts the hearings before approving their budget. This is among the many other issues hounding the agency.

That said, I remember that during DOH Sec. Francisco Duque III’s confirmation hearings at the Commission on Appointments, I asked him some questions on DOH’s supply chain issues and what he intended to do to resolve those issues. He could not answer my questions satisfactorily, if at all.

Am I surprised that he did not even bother to research in spite of his obvious lack of knowledge on the importance of the supply chain in his department? What gives? It’s hubris. He only cares about his boss, the President who, for reasons only they probably know cannot and will not remove him from office in spite of repeated calls from the majority of senators and other sectors.

Sadly, the issues brought to light by the Commission on Audit report, among others, shows that he doesn’t care about the health concerns of the people who he is supposed to serve.

*****

Posted on

On the Initial Expose on Corruption by Sen. Manny Pacquiao

Screengrab of Sen. Pacquiao’s virtual press conference July 3

Without details backed by documents or at least sworn statements executed by his witnesses, if any, there may not be sufficient basis for the Senate to conduct a hearing although the Blue Ribbon Committee is allowed to conduct investigation in aid of legislation even without referral.

It now behooves the Chairman to make the call on the issue at hand.

Meantime, the onus is on Sen. Pacquiao at the very least to show some specifics in support of his allegations, which by its nature are serious, not to mention sensitive.

It can better serve the purpose of the expose if relevant documents that he said he has would be submitted to the Senate President or the Blue Ribbon Committee, so we can assess what next move to take on the issues that he presented in yesterday’s virtual press conference.

*****

Posted on

On the DOH’s Planned ‘Brand Agnostic’ Vaccination Policy

It is not a new and unique practice. One reason why the vaccination program in other countries, particularly the United States, has become highly successful is that recipients of the vaccines are only informed of the brand of the vaccine once they are already on site and ready to get inoculated.

There is no saying that the choice of the brand is totally disregarded, but those who refuse the vaccine immediately available will have to fall out of line and wait for their preferred brand.

Also, some health experts have pointed out the best vaccine is the one available. Besides, clinical trials are a continuing process so no one can really conclude with finality which vaccine brand is better than the other.

That being said, more efforts must be made to assure the public of the benefits of vaccination amid the pandemic. Libre ito, manggaling man sa gobyerno, LGUs o mga korporasyon bilang kawanggawa sa kanilang mga empleyado at pamilya. Magpabakuna na tayo!

*****

Posted on

Ping: Pagbabakuna, Seryosong Ikampanya para Tiwala ng Publiko Tumaas

Image courtesy: NTF-COVID FB account

Habang hinihintay ang pagdating ng maramihang suplay ng bakuna sa bansa laban sa COVID-19, dapat nang maglunsad ng malawakang kampanya ang Department of Health (DOH) para mapalakas ang tiwala ng publiko sa mga ito.

Ito ay ipinaalala ni Senador Panfilo Lacson na nagbabala na maaaring masayang ang dumating na bakuna dahil maraming Pilipino ang walang tiwala rito.

“What our officials including Health Sec. Francisco Duque III should do is improve the public’s trust in vaccines, instead of just announcing when the vaccines will arrive. Besides, if very few Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated, the vaccines that actually arrive may go to waste,” banggit ni Lacson sa panayam ng DZRH radio.

Related: Magtiwala sa Bakuna: Lacson Pushes Info Drive to Improve Trust in COVID Vaccines
Continue reading “Ping: Pagbabakuna, Seryosong Ikampanya para Tiwala ng Publiko Tumaas”