THE former Department of Health (DOH) special adviser for non-communicable diseases is calling for the resignation of Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa after photographs showed him hobnobbing with executives of the tobacco industry at an event in Malacanang.
In a statement, Dr. Tony Leachon said Herbosa must resign from his post, adding has lost the moral ascendancy to lead the department mainly tasked to defend the nation’s health.
In a statement, Leachon said: “Leadership is about moral ascendancy. It is about making choices that may be difficult but are right. Secretary Herbosa has failed this test. And because of that, he has lost the right to lead.
“I call on Secretary Herbosa to do the honorable thing, to resign immediately,” he added.
Leachon, a former adviser of Herbosa, said he believes the latter’s actions were unacceptable as they go against everything that anti-tobacco advocates have stood for.
He said the actions of Herbosa violated the Joint Memorandum Circular 2010-01 of the Civil Service Commission and the DOH, which categorically bars government officials from engaging with the tobacco industry.
“This is not just a lapse in judgment. This is a deliberate act that spits in the face of every Filipino who has lost a father, a mother, a brother, or a sister to tobacco-related illnesses,” he said.
“It is an insult to every doctor, nurse, and healthcare worker fighting daily against lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory failure caused by cigarette smoking,” added Leachon.
If Herbosa refuses to resign, Leachon said he is urging President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr to remove him from office.
“The Department of Health must be led by someone who places the lives of Filipinos above corporate interests, someone who understands that public health is not up for negotiation,” said Leachon.
Similarly, the former president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) urged the general public to join the call for the removal of Herbosa as health chief.
“We must never allow those entrusted with our well-being to sell out our future. We deserve better. We demand better. And we will fight for nothing less,” said Leachon.
Pictures of Herbosa posing side by side with tobacco officials as well as First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian during an event in Malacañang were published in newspapers and posted on social media.
During the event, government representatives also received four mobile clinics donated by the tobacco firm for use in the “Lab For All” project of the DOH and Araneta-Marcos.
The DOH has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
