Vergeire removed from DOH? Medical groups seem to know the story

While government is tight-lipped about the whole thing, 57 health practitioners’ groups issue a statement expressing deep concern over her ‘removal,’ along with other career DOH officials

For nearly three weeks, there had been whispers about senior career officials leaving the Department of Health (DOH) unceremoniously. Confirmations came in bits and pieces, but the department’s refusal to talk about the reason they left only fueled more speculations. 

DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa later confirmed that these three officials were no longer with the department, their names removed from the executive committee, ABS-CBN reported on July 29: undersecretaries Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire, Kenneth Ronquillo, and Achilles Gerard Bravo. 

Vergeire, who gained prominence as the face of the DOH during the COVID-19 pandemic, was the OIC secretary of health under the Marcos administration for a year, before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Herbosa.

Later, it became known that Malacañang appointed Vergeire’s replacement, former Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development undersecretary Randy Escolango, as early as July 14.  

‘Expired’ tenure before retirement?

The reason for the exit?

“You’ll have to interview them on this matter,” Herbosa said. 

“Decisions of execom members leading to their separation from the service are personal in nature,” DOH spokesperson Albert Domingo said separately. 

“Pahinga lang muna ako,” Vergeire herself told Business Mirror. (I’ll just rest for a while.)

Her tenure “has expired, effective immediately,” according to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin — an interesting reason to cite since Vergeire, at 56, is still several years away from retirement age. 

While the officials are tight-lipped about the whole thing, a statement released by 57 organizations of health practitioners on Monday, August 4, indicated that they knew something the public didn’t: Vergeire was removed from the agency, where she had served for 18 years. 

“We are therefore deeply concerned over her recent removal, along with other career DOH officials, who have demonstrated competence and dedication,” the statement said. 

“These actions — and the appointment of officials with limited public health background crucially needed in their roles — risk undermining institutional stability, demoralizing other health professionals, and weakening the public trust we have collectively worked to build.” 

Moved around from post to post

Among the organizations that credited Vergeire “for her unwavering science-based leadership and principled public service,” and called on President Marcos “to protect and strengthen the foundations of professional, non-partisan health governance” were the Philippine Medical Association, Philippine Academy of Family Physicians, Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecology Society, Philippine Academic Society of Social and Community Medicine, Philippine Society of Medical Oncology, and Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines. 

Recently appointed to the DOH are Dr. Gregorio Murillo Jr., a former mayor of Tago, Surigao del Sur, and Escolango, a lawyer. 

After Vergeire was skipped for permanent appointment as DOH secretary in June 2023, and before her alleged removal from the department, she was moved around various positions within two years, according to the Inquirer. 

From being “the chief of all the undersecretaries that are in charge of our operations of all the different regions,” she was limited to overseeing just the Northern Luzon and Central Luzon clusters. She also alternately headed the clusters for health regulation and facility development, special concerns, and universal health care policy and strategy.

Various groups have been inviting Vergeire to speak on public health issues since she left the DOH. Given the long list of health practitioners who are convinced that politics may have played a role in displacing her from the department, you can expect some candid talk when they meet with her behind closed doors. Then we can only hope the walls could speak. – Rappler.com