Health chief Herbosa dispels talk he’s on his way out
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Wednesday dispelled reports that he was on his way out of the Marcos Cabinet.
“There’s no truth to that,” Herbosa told reporters in a Palace briefing.
But he said “We in the Cabinet all serve at the pleasure of the President. So, if ever the President wants to replace me, that is the prerogative of our President.”
Malacañang press officer Claire Castro maintained there was no impending Cabinet shake-up, and that Herbosa “still enjoys the President’s trust… as of this date.”
The week opened with reports that the President was reviewing the performances of least nine agencies: health, education, foreign affairs, tourism, transportation, information and communications technology, and public works, and economic planning and development, as well as the Bureau of Customs.
The review was reportedly in preparation for another Cabinet revamp, coming in the wake of the public works corruption scandal that rocked the administration in the last quarter of 2025.
“[The Cabinet members] serve at the discretion of the President. It all depends on what the President sees in the performance of our duties,” Castro said.
“But as of now, we have not received any information that there will be a Cabinet revamp,” she said.
Since becoming health chief in June 2023, Herbosa has faced criticism and clamors for him to resign over a number of issues.
Among them was over the delay in the release of health emergency allowances for personnel who served during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also drew flak for alleged complicity in the controversial transfer of P60 billion in “excess funds” from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the national treasury, a move later disallowed by the Supreme Court.
Earlier complaints
Health advocates had also called him out over a photo showing him with tobacco company executives.
Herbosa and two other ranking health officials currently face a complaint filed in December at the Office of the Ombudsman questioning their being hosts on a radio program where P98 million worth of Department of Health (DOH) promotional materials had been placed, allegedly serving as their vehicle for “self-promotion.”
In August last year, the Alliance of Health Workers filed a complaint against Herbosa and five other DOH officials over the release of P44.6 million worth of psychiatric drugs to the Rotary Club of Quezon City.
The group had no authority to dispense medicines, the complaint stressed.
He also came under fire for a P1.29-billion cash advance to the United Nations Children’s Fund for vaccines and essential medicines that allegedly remained unliquidated.
Herbosa was also a respondent in a complaint filed by DOH employees accusing him of unlawful interference in the procurement of P1.8 billion worth of mobile primary care facility units.
