PUBLIC health advocates and tobacco control organizations yesterday called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to revoke the nomination of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippines to preside over the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA).
In a letter, the groups, led by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), asked WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to rescind the forthcoming WHA presidency of the Philippines, citing the recent interaction of Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa with a tobacco firm).
“While we recognize past contributions of the Philippines to global health, recent actions of the Philippine government, including its current Health Secretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, cast serious doubts on the capacity of the Philippine government to uphold the integrity and principles that the WHO and the WHA stand for,” said the groups.
“Given these circumstances, we urge the WHO and its Member States to rescind the nomination of the Philippines for the WHA presidency,” they added.
The groups cited the acts of Herbosa, First Lady Liza Marcos, and Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian last March 20 when they received four mobile clinics from the tobacco firm on behalf of the government in Malacañang.
They noted that such acts contradict the Philippine government’s commitment to the WHO – Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and violate the Civil Service Commission-Department of Health Joint Memorandum Circular (CSC-DOH JMC) 2010-01.
“The active participation and applause of the Health Secretary legitimizes these deceptive industry tactics and undermines public trust in public health institutions tasked with protecting citizens from tobacco harms and nicotine addiction,” said the groups.
“Furthermore, this legitimization of the tobacco industry gives it undue influence over policymaking, undermining public health regulations to limit the devastating impact of tobacco on public health,” they added.
WHO member states traditionally elect the WHA President via rotation from each of the six WHO regions, namely, Western Pacific, South East Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Eastern Mediterranean.
For the 78th session of the WHA, the president will come from the Western Pacific region.
Last October 2024, the Philippines was nominated by the WHO – Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) to be the next president of the 78th WHA set to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, this coming May.
The last time the WHA President came from the Western Pacific was in 2019, with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic holding the post.
