DEPUTY Majority Leader and Iloilo First District Representative Janette Garin criticized the appointment of former Special Adviser to the National Task Force against COVID-19 Dr. Tony Leachon, stressing that he is not an expert on public health.
Garin questioned the expertise of Leachon on public health as he was earlier appointed by the Department of Health (DOH) as the agency’s Special Adviser for Non-Communicable Diseases.
During the budget deliberations on Wednesday, it was revealed that Leachon does not have a Masteral or Doctorate degree in Public Health to be considered an expert in the field.
Furthermore, Garin cited a statement of Presidential Adviser on Peace Carlito Galvez Jr., saying that the data released on vaccines were “skewed” and “malicious.”
“Do you think its fair for the Department of Health to [to give] P100,000 to a person whose statements were always skewed and malicious?…I’m saying this because as a Secretary of Health, you have allies and colleagues with you whose tasks and functions will be affected,” Garin told Herbosa.
“You can hire him as your personal consultant but you cannot give him the platform of the Department of Health because that is a lot different,” the House Appropriations panel vice chairperson added.
Instead of giving compensation to the non-expert, Garin said that it should be alloted to MAIP (Medical Assistance for Indigents Program) workers.
“Ang laki laki po ng medical assistance program. Napakaraming trabaho sa kanila… pero kulang na kulang po sila Secretary sa tao,” she said.
The DOH proposed a budget of P204.6 billion for 2024.
metrosundaily
