President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed former UP Executive Vice President Dr. Teodoro Herbosa as secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday. But his history of red-tagging students and defending Duterte’s COVID-19 response still resounds today.
Herbosa was the special advisor to the National Task Force Against COVID-19 during the Duterte administration. During his term, he defended Duterte and former health secretary Francisco Duque III from public criticism over the government’s militarist approach to mitigate the impact of the virus, including the arrest of over 100,000 alleged COVID-19 protocol violators.
Despite the prolonged lockdown, Herbosa praised Duterte’s administration stating it had done a “fairly good job” in handling the pandemic.
Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil said that Herbosa “brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise in healthcare systems, public health, hospital administration, emergency and disaster medicine.” He will replace DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, officially completing the Marcos cabinet.
Herbosa held prominent roles in UP, serving as the executive vice president of UP from 2017 to 2021 under Danilo Concepcion’s term, and was a professor at UP Manila College of Medicine.
In April 2021, Herbosa resigned as Vice President of UP after he drew public attention from his “death by community pantry,” tweet. His post was a response after an elderly lady died waiting in line at a community pantry organized by actress Angel Locsin.
Herbosa also drew flak after red-tagging UP students. Last April 2023, Herbosa blatantly red-tagged students involved in the storming after the UP Diliman Chancellor selection. He even made rape jokes on his Facebook account that drew further criticism.
Amid this backdrop, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro reminded the new DOH chief of his role.
“We hope that he would truly serve the interest and health issues of the Filipino people and not just engage in red-tagging or trolling,” Castro said.
Herbosa’s appointment ended nearly a year of vacancy in the office of DOH secretary. ●
