Disturbing carelessness

Twenty-eight days. Not even a full month, and virtually a blip in office. That’s how long Dr. Jose “Brix” Pujalte Jr. served as health secretary before resigning on Aug. 10, 2026, making him the shortest-serving Department of Health (DOH) chief in Philippine history.

He even broke the record of Dr. Felipe Estrella, who served 54 days as health secretary from July 1 to Aug. 23, 1998, under then President Joseph Estrada.

Pujalte cited “health reasons” for his resignation, but it was telling that just days before his departure, Malacañang had to make public assurances that President Marcos continued to trust his new health chief.

The more likely reason for the abrupt exit was that Pujalte, who had barely warmed his seat, was already facing a double whammy: one, an 18-page graft and administrative complaint filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman related to a frozen P3.225-billion tuberculosis drug procurement; and before that, a complaint lodged at the Presidential Action Center alleging that Pujalte was into casino gambling using a fictitious name.

According to unnamed “concerned citizens,” Pujalte not only frequented casinos, but also used the aliases “Louis Santos” and “Louiss Santos” to gain entry into two hotel-casinos in Parañaque City.

Gambling accusations

The complainants asked the Palace to investigate Pujalte for alleged violation of a raft of laws and policies barring government officials from entering casinos and playing in these facilities, such as then President Rodrigo Duterte’s Memorandum Circular No. 06, series of 2016, and Section 14-4(a) of Presidential Decree No. 1869.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) also bans all government officials and employees from entering, staying, or playing in casinos and engaging in any form of gambling, regardless of time or location, under its CSC Resolution No. 2600111 promulgated in January.

Pujalte denied the gambling accusations, as well as the graft complaint arising from his decision to suspend the procurement of billions of pesos’ worth of tuberculosis commodities. Health advocates accused Pujalte of risking injury to public health by deliberately stalling the bidding and putting Congress-approved funding on hold, allegedly to give an unnamed favored supplier time to secure the contract.

Blizzard of controversies

It was not too long ago that Pujalte’s takeover of the DOH was greeted with a sigh of relief by health advocates and stakeholders who had grown weary of the blizzard of controversies that Pujalte’s predecessor, Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, himself faced in his over three years in the post. Before Herbosa, there was also Francisco Duque III, whose tenure during the dire years of the COVID-19 pandemic was marked by even more damaging scandal and strife.

The tumult and instability occasioned by these seemingly endless blows to the DOH generated the very real fear that they undermined the department’s delivery of services, and beyond that, crucial public confidence in the health of the agency mandated to look after the well-being of Filipinos.

Hence, Pujalte’s appointment following Herbosa’s resignation was welcomed by various health observers as the DOH’s much-needed break. The Alliance of Health Workers hailed Pujalte’s track record by saying, “Having previously stood with health workers and other stakeholders in opposing the privatization of public hospitals, including the proposed privatization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, AHW expects him to remain consistent with this position by upholding and strengthening the public healthcare system and ensuring that government hospitals remain accessible to all Filipinos.”

Sloppy vetting

How fast one’s fortune changes once the harsh light of politics and governance kicks in. Pujalte may yet be found innocent of all the complaints lodged against him, but certainly the start of his tenure was already hobbled by the possible investigations ahead of him that would distract him from his job. Giving it up was the proper thing to do, for the sake of the department and the broader health sector.

The President promptly appointed Dr. Edwin Mercado, president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., as Pujalte’s replacement. Despite the swift action, the administration bears responsibility for what appears to have been sloppy vetting and due diligence in the case of Pujalte.

Given the troubled leadership record in the DOH over the past few years, Malacañang had all the impetus to choose an unassailable candidate for the next health chief—to get this key appointment right. At the start of his term, President Marcos had in fact dillydallied for about 11 months before finally designating Herbosa as the permanent DOH Secretary. He still ended up with one of the most controversy-wracked members of his Cabinet. That should have called for more careful consideration the next time around, but Pujalte’s record-short tenure indicates, at the very least, a disturbing carelessness in the Palace appointment process.