Dayrit wants to be with ailing wife

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit resigned from his post to spend more time with his wife who has breast cancer, according to a Department of Health (DOH) official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A Malacañang official said earlier Dayrit had resigned to accept a post in the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dayrit, however, denied the official’s claim. "I can keep that whether I’m DOH secretary or not. It’s a commissioner’s post."

Dayrit, who arrived yesterday from a WHO meeting in Cairo, Egypt, said he will continue on as health chief until Malacañang makes an official announcement.

"Well, I’m still on the job," Dayrit told reporters upon arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Dayrit’s wife, Elvira, underwent surgery late last year at Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital in Manila to remove a mass from her breast. Further examination revealed it to be cancerous.

"I think he wants to have more time for his wife. If, indeed, he resigned, I think that would be one of the primary reasons," the DOH official said, although he admitted he was not privy to the reasons behind the resignation.

Dayrit’s work at the DOH is more demanding than his position as a commissioner at the WHO’s Commission on Social Determinants on Health, the source added.

Dayrit wife’s once headed the DOH’s Maternal and Child Health Services before becoming the department’s director for the National Capital Region.

But when Dayrit was appointed by President Arroyo to the DOH in 2001, his wife quit her post and transferred to a lesser government agency to avoid conflict-of-interest issues.

Sen. Juan Flavier, a former health secretary during the Ramos administration, said word of Dayrit’s resignation had been circulating in the grapevine since last month.

"But the overriding factor is his wife who is sick with cancer. He wants to spend more time with his wife," he said.

Dayrit’s resignation did not come as a surprise to some DOH officials and personnel.

They said they saw a change in the department’s leadership coming. "The time is now ripe," as one official described it.

"It has been reported so many times. Somehow, we’ve been prepared for this," said one employee.

Another DOH insider claimed that Dayrit only served as a benchwarmer for Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) president Francisco Duque III, who admitted being offered Dayrit’s post early this month.

The official said Duque helped boost Mrs. Arroyo’s 2004 presidential bid by distributing Philhealth cards to the indigent during the campaign. "That would be a payment of political indebtedness. We knew this time would come," the official said.

The opposition had accused Mrs. Arroyo of political tricks during the election campaign.

The President was later accused of robbing opposition frontrunner Fernando Poe Jr. of victory in the polls. Poe later lodged an electoral protest, which was junked by the Supreme Court shortly after his death last December.

Meanwhile, Duque said he expects insinuations to be made about him if he is appointed as Dayrit’s replacement.

"I can’t stop them if they think like that. But when the President appoints someone to an important agency like the DOH, she will look for solid accomplishments. My track record speaks for itself," he said.

While he believed that a Duque appointment was a political debt payment, Flavier said he would welcome it, preferring to give Duque a fair chance to prove himself. "Let’s give him 100 days," he said.

Duque was named to Philhealth in June 2001. Prior to this, he was an undersecretary at the DOH.

Sometime in 1999 to 2000, he became a director of Philhealth, being the representative of then vice president and social welfare secretary Arroyo.

Duque he will make history at the DOH if he replaces Dayrit. His father was the health secretary of Mrs. Arroyo’s father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal.

Dayrit declined to comment when asked about Duque by reporters. "I don’t want to feed speculations," he said. "I’m still on the job. You wait for whatever they say," referring to Malacañang.

Some congressmen urged Mrs. Arroyo to choose a replacement "as competent and dedicated" as Dayrit.

Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Roseller Barinaga and Bulacan Rep. Reylina Nicolas, both members of the House committee on health, expressed regret over Dayrit’s departure.

"We can’t blame him for leaving. He has his own reasons and we should respect his decision," Barinaga said.

"He sacrificed his personal interest for public service. For this, we should respect his decision to now leave the government service," Nicolas said.

They praised Dayrit’s leadership, especially in 2003 when the Philippines’ Asian neighbors were being ravaged by an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

"The DOH campaign was so effective that the disease was contained. The round-the-clock monitoring and information by the DOH helped people to understand more about SARS and how to prevent its spread," Barinaga said.

Nicolas said the Arroyo administration has a "deep bench of talents to choose from. The President should put a premium on track record, competence and integrity in choosing his successor to ensure continuity of the health programs and good governance of the health sector." – With Christina Mendez