MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Former Philippine National Police chief and now deputy secretary of fitness Camilo Cascolan has defended his appointment at the Department of Health, saying his “management and strategic planning” will be handled by the agency.
“My experience in emergency response, network and experience play an important role in bringing people closer to fitness,” he said Monday, Oct. 24, after DOH showed its appointment on Sunday evening, Oct. 23.
The former PNP leader helped conceptualize the COVID-19 task force before handing it over to former PNP leader Guillermo Eleazar for implementation.
“Health management is not just about medical knowledge. There are many doctors in the institution, however, it is very important to balance science, control and strategy,” he said.
Cascolan’s appointment comes as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to appoint his fitness secretary, a Cabinet post he wants someone to lead the country’s way out of the fitness crisis. He named Undersecretary of Health Maria Rosario Vergeire, a career civil servant, as the officer.
On Sunday, the Health Care Workers Alliance (AHW) also criticized Cascolan’s appointment, calling it a “great insult to our fitness experts who are uniquely qualified to manage and handle DOH affairs. “
“AHW believes that Cascolan’s appointment through PBBM is a transparent manifestation of the president’s excessive disregard for the life, fitness, protection and well-being of fitness and the entire Filipino nation,” the organization said.
Meanwhile, the progressive Akbayan organization denounced his appointment, saying the position is “not a task for amateurs and beginners. “
But for Dr. Maricar Limpin, former president of the College of Physicians of the Philippines, it’s better for the public to give Cascolan a chance.
“Mayroon ho siyang plus ratings, let’s say, in terms of funding, ‘yung monetary management. . . Kasi isa po, isa’ yan sa problema na nakita nitong mga nakaraan sa Department of Health,” Limpin said in an interview with DZMM’s TeleRadio.
(It has more ratings, like, say, in terms of financing, monetary management. Because that’s one of the newly known disorders at the Department of Health. )
The former NPP leader has spent much of his career running police stations in parts of the Philippines, adding Taguig City, Compostela Valley province, which has since been renamed Davao de Oro, and towns in Iloilo.
Cascolan is also among the generals considered part of Duterte’s circle of acceptance with the so-called “Davao boys. “
DOH has still provided data on Cascolan’s assignment to the department Rappler. com.