DOH chief, 2 others face P98 million graft case

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Health Secretary Ted Herbosa and two other DOH officials have been charged with graft and breach of conduct before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the P98-million radio show “PINASigla” hosted by the three officials.

The ombudsman has been asked to place Herbosa, acting DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo and director of the Health Promotion Bureau Ma. Kristina Marasigan under preventive suspension to deter them from influencing the case.

The respondents are facing charges for violating Republic Act 3019, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees as well as grave misconduct.

The Concerned DOH Personnel, Alliance for Clean and Transparent Government as well as the Health Workers for Change Movement said the three DOH officials have conflicting roles as public officers and radio anchors of the show, which is aired on various outlets owned by the Philippine Collective Media Corp.

“This was not accidental, occasional or incidental but a deliberate choice: regular, public and sustained,” the groups said.

The complainants alleged that the DOH officials financed the radio program using government funds.

“The respondents did not merely approve a media program. They designed, funded and personally occupied the platform created by public expenditure. In effect, they used the authority of their office to create a government-funded broadcast space and then installed themselves as principal personalities. This is a clear form of manifest partiality and evident bad faith,” the complaint stated.

“They are showing a conscious wrongdoing by blurring the line between public information and personal information,” it added.

The groups pointed out that while there is no law prohibiting health promotion, it is a different thing “for a public officer to use public funds to generate a platform where he himself benefits.”

“Was the P98-million radio program genuinely for public health promotion or was it a financed vehicle for Herbosa’s own media exposure and personal branding?” the complainants asked.