Former national police chief Camilo Cascolan was appointed to the Department of Health to look at its administrative functions with an eye on improving the agency, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday as he defended his choice for DOH undersecretary.
The President also fended off criticism of his appointment of Paul Soriano as presidential adviser on creative communications, saying people “have misunderstood” why he tapped the director and nephew of First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos for the post.
On Cascolan, Mr. Marcos told reporters in an ambush interview: “It’s not health issues that he has to look at, that’s why he doesn’t have to be a doctor. He’s going to look at the function of the DOH.”
“It is an administrative audit if you want to call it that. We talked about rightsizing. We talked about structural changes. We need somebody to examine what has been going on,” he added of the former Philippine National Police chief.
As for Soriano, “He’s there to find ways to promote the creative industry because that’s his expertise. We have to project that to the rest of the world. That’s the job of Paul,” the President said.
More than 100 days into his administration, Marcos has yet to appoint a Health Secretary. The DOH is currently being headed by officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Cascolan’s appointment to the DOH was met with criticisms, with Dr. Gene Nisperos, a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, saying Wednesday the appointment of a non-doctor as health undersecretary is “an insult to all Filipino citizens.”
Defending himself, Cascolan said he could be of help to the health department through his expertise in emergency response.
He said that when he was PNP chief for two months in late 2020, he started COVID-19 protocols in the initial stage “when everybody was in a quandary.”
Cascolan also said he conceptualized the COVID-19 Task Force at the PNP during the early days of the pandemic.
Senator Risa Hontiveros also backed the ex-police general, saying: “The officials don’t have to be doctors, they have different expertise in looking at the functions of the department.”
“I can concede that to the President, the capacity of Police Gen. Cascolan there,” she said.
But the senator, who called Cascolan her “mistah,” admitted it cannot be avoided for Filipinos to be surprised by his appointment “because we really have public health experts who can do the job.”
She hopes the DOH can really use his expertise in public safety, as “public health is not really his expertise.”
On Soriano, the President said the filmmaker was not given a government post to bolster his public relations machinery as earlier insinuated by several critics and netizens.
Soriano will help develop the Philippine tourism industry by finding ways to promote Filipino artistry and crafts, Mr. Marcos said.
“Pinagmamalaki natin ang galing kumanta ng mga Pilipino, ang gagaling umarte, ang gagaling sa sine… (We are proud of how great Filipinos sing, act, and make movies). We have to project that to the rest of the world. Yan ang trabaho ni Paul,” he said.
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco earlier said that under her watch, the Department of Tourism (DOT) would not only promote destinations, but would also urge travelers to try Filipino food, see Filipino talent, and buy Filipino weaves and other local crafts.
Mr. Marcos said tourism would be one of the pillars the Philippines would use to regain its economic losses post-pandemic.
The President has been visiting various tourism-related events to show his support for the industry, which he said could generate jobs and spur economic growth in the country.
Nisperos, the health expert and professor at the state university, said Cascolan’s appointment is a “blatant display of patronage politics.”
The government is holding on to the “bare minimum” of the former police general’s qualification, Nisperos said told ANC’s “Rundown”.
The retired police officer is trained in public management at the UP Visayas.
“The point is why get someone when you can get that is very qualified and then work hard to make him manage to do the job,” the doctor said.
As the country’s healthcare system is complex, those holding a top post at the DOH should have the skillset and knowledge of the health landscape, Nisperos said.
“One thing is, there are a lot of Filipinos, why get a retired general? The second part is, he’s not just a policeman. He’s not just a simple police officer. The man has a history with the bloody anti-drug war,” he said.
“So, just looking at that, he reflects a value system that is anathema to what health represents,” Nisperos added.
Cascolan was among those who crafted “Oplan Double Barrel,” which became the PNP’s flagship program in the war against illegal drugs. The controversial “Oplan Tokhang,” which is linked to thousands of deaths of drug suspects, was implemented under this program.