A clear conflict of interest case
It may not be as loudly articulated, but wayward Cabinet officials are definitely covered in the call for accountability carried by the snowballing anticorruption rallies.
This comes to mind as Department of Health employees last week accused DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa of conflict of interest for “fraternizing” with a health contractor. The group has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate Herbosa for possible violations of antigraft and procurement laws over his alleged close ties with Zuellig Pharma Corporation, and to place him under preventive suspension with possible administrative penalties.
The concerned employees claimed that Herbosa, as concurrent DOH Head of the Procuring Entity, has “continuously fraternized” with the pharmaceutical company despite its active participation in the agency’s bidding and procurement activities.
Included in their complaint are several screenshots of a Facebook post by Zuellig Family Foundation showing the health secretary’s participation in one of its consultative forum in 2023, congratulating his confirmation as DOH secretary also in 2023, his attendance in the company’s forum in Thailand last February, and the company executives’ visit to his office.
Ongoing procurement
With Herbosa also attending company-sponsored trips, social gatherings and out-of-town activities, the complaint cited Section 3(b) of the Anti-Graft Law that prohibits public officials from receiving any gifts or benefits “in connection with or transaction between the government and any other part.”
While the complainants concede that Herbosa’s attendance may be seen as part of his job as government representative and as an act of hospitality toward the contractor, it didn’t help that the company “had an active ongoing procurement interest with his office.” This represents a “clear conflict of interest” under Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, the complaint said.
Despite that, Herbosa “still enjoys the trust of the President,” Malacañang said, adding however that the Ombudsman should be allowed to continue its investigation into the matter.
This isn’t the first time that Herbosa has been hauled before the Ombudsman. In August this year, some DOH employees asked the Ombudsman to investigate the official over an alleged P1.29 billion unliquidated cash transfer to the United Nations’ Children’s Fund (Unicef) for the procurement of vaccines and essential drugs from February 2024 to July 30, 2024.
Pharmally scandal
They claimed that Herbosa then initiated a new procurement request to purchase vaccines from the Unicef worth P524,926,193.47, in violation of a Commission on Audit (COA) circular and DOH memorandum against new fund transfers when the previous one remained unliquidated.
The complaint added that Herbosa’s actions “delayed the public’s access to essential vaccines.”
Herbosa’s alleged abuse of his position to favor certain contractors and reap undue benefits recalls similar accusations of conflict of interest against his predecessor, Francisco Duque.
The former DOH secretary came under fire for leasing his family’s property to DOH-attached agency, PhilHealth, where he served as ex-officio chair. He was also slammed for awarding contracts to his family’s company, Doctors Pharmaceuticals Inc., though he claimed to have divested his shares. Duque was linked to the Pharmally scandal as well after transferring to the procurement arm of the Duterte administration P41.4 billion in DOH funds, which were then used to purchase substandard and overpriced pandemic supplies from an undercapitalized but favored supplier in 2020.
Matter of life and death
Amid the ongoing Senate hearings on anomalous flood control projects and unscrupulous officials, the allegations against Herbosa demonstrate once more how the lack of transparency in government transactions abets corruption and evades accountability among those imbued with public trust.
But there’s an even more pressing reason why DOH officials must meet a higher standard of professional conduct and maintain integrity in all their dealings. The agency deals with public health, and compromising that in a clear case of conflict of interest could be a matter of life and death. When decisions are influenced by preferential treatment for contractors who might put profit above public interest, the result could be substandard vaccines and medicines that endanger people’s health and put their lives at risk.
To boost the DOH’s credibility and people’s trust in government institutions, the Ombudsman should thoroughly review the DOH documents and the COA reports to ensure that all government transactions with the agency are aboveboard and free of any taint of suspicious dealings.
Aside from preventive suspension while the probe is ongoing, Herbosa could consider a courtesy resignation to give the President a free hand to choose a more ethical replacement to head such a crucial life-sustaining agency.
