Former Philippine National Police chief Camilo Cascolan has been appointed as an undersecretary of the Department of Health, the agency confirmed Sunday.
Cascolan took over from Roger Tong-an as undersecretary, while lawyer Charade Mercado-Grande was also appointed as assistant secretary, the department said in a statement.
The DOH said it will provide more details about the new appointments as soon as available.
The Health Department still has no Secretary, almost four months since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assumed power.
The Chief Executive said he would only do so once the country’s COVID-19 situation had normalized.
Before his appointment at the DOH, Cascolan was undersecretary at the Office of the President in February 2021 under the Duterte administration.
He had served as PNP chief from September to November 2020.
Cascolan held various positions within the PNP, including Director of the PNP Civil Security Group and chief of the Directorial Staff, among others.
He also served as the director of the National Capital Region Police Office in 2018.
Cascolan was among those who authored Oplan Double Barrel, which became the PNP’s flagship program in the war against illegal drugs.
Under this program was the controversial “Oplan Tokhang,” which is linked to thousands of deaths of drug suspects.
Cascolan belonged to the Philippine Military Academy Sinagtala class of 1986, as with fellow former PNP chiefs Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa — now a senator — and Oscar Albayalde.