By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS
HEALTH Secretary Enrique Ona’s one month leave of absence ends today.
The health community is awaiting with bated breath the decision of President Aquino on Ona, who is embroiled in the controversy over the P800 million purchase of a pneumonia vaccine.
The result of the investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation on the issues raised against Ona would be an important consideration in the President’s decision.
If the President decides to retain Ona, that means he is cleared of all the issues against him.
This week, another issue came up: Ona’s authorization of the use for the treatment of dengue and malaria of a drug that did not pass clinical trial.
Actually, Ona is not new to controversies. When he was first appointed, there were opposition against him because of his alleged involvement in unethical kidney transplant procedures and organ trafficking during his stint as medical director of the National Kidney Institute. The Phil Society of Nephrology opposed his practices at NKTI during that time.
Ona was also involved in the unproven stem cell treatment leading to controversial issues opposed by 20 medical societies in August 2013.
He is also being asked to give a report on how the DOH has used the P100 billion generated from the Sin tax.
If the President decides to let go of Ona, it makes good sense that the replacement would be an insider considering that only 19 months are left in the Aquino administration. An insider would not need a familiarization period.
If the President decides on an insider, the frontrunners are the two undersecretaries : Janet Garin, who is now the acting secretary and Ted Herbosa.
Herbosa is identified with Ona. If he becomes the health secretary, it would be back to business as usual for Ona’s “mafia” in the department.
Garin from her acts while acting secretary showed that there’s no love lost between her and Ona.
Garin does not also come with clean hands having been identified by whistleblowers in the pork barrel scam as among those who benefitted from the misuse of P5 billion from the funds of the defunct National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR).
But what really is working against Garin, who was a congresswoman before she was appointed at the DOH, is her penchant for grandstanding. The best example was her visit with Armed Forces Chief Gregorio Pio Catapang, accompanied by a photographer, to the quarantined peacekeepers from Ebola-plagued Libera, in Caballo island in Cavite.
All these reports of anomalies at the DOH are lamentable because they concern the health of the Filipino people.
As one doctor said: “You expect Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revene, Department of Public Works and Services to be corrupt. But not DOH. It’s for social services.
“It’s the public face of compassion and care. You entrust yourself to the Department of Health for your health.
The public suffers travelling through bad roads due to corruption in DPWH. The economy suffers due to corruption in Customs and BIR. It’s condemnable.
But corruption in the health, just like corruption in education, is more pernicious. The harm cuts through generations.
Corruption in textbooks and school equipment and supplies result in illiterate public school pupils, who would growing up not adequately educated and always be in the losing end of the competition for a better life. It’s robbing them of the opportunity out of poverty.
Same thing with corruption in public health.
The number one asset of a nation is its people. Healthy people make wealthy nation.
Inadequate and ineffective vaccination, lack of basic medicine, lack of funds for health workers due to corruption result in a weak work force,loss of productivity, and bigger budget for treatment.
It’s criminal.