“People talk about
perfect timing, but I think everything is perfect in its moment; you just want
to capture that.” Eddie Huang
By
Alex P. Vidal
THE timing of my article entitled, “Did Loreto-Garin
inherit top post of graft-ridden DOH?” last November 12 where I mentioned that
“acting Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin remains to be one of the only few DOH
bigwigs with immaculate record”, was bad.
The word “immaculate” broke the back of the camel.
On the day the story was published in Western
Visayas, the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) reported on its front page that
Loreto-Garin, 42, was also being investigated for her alleged involvement in
the anomalous use of millions of pesos in funds of the defunct National
Agri-Business Corp.(Nabcor).
“So far, Loreto-Garin has been doing a fine job as
acting secretary for almost three weeks now. We hope she maintains this
reputation now that her fellow DOH officials appear to be heading to the Hall
of Shame,” I wrote in that article which also came out in my blog
(http://alexpvidal.blogspot.com/2014/11/did-loreto-garin-inherit-top-post-of.html).
Her alleged involvement in the scam actually
happened when she was still a member of the House of Representatives
representing the first district of Iloilo, not during her stint as DOH
undersecretary.
Loreto-Garin was implicated last March by former
Nabcor officials Rhodora Mendoza and Victor Cacal as among the lawmakers who
allegedly benefited from the Nabcor funds intended to be used for “technical
studies” for rice harvest improvement but ended up in the politicians’ campaign
kitties instead.
PORK
Loreto-Garin immediately denied receiving pork
barrel funds and vowed to resign from the DOH should authorities prove her
participation in the anomalous transaction.
She dismissed the allegations as “baseless and
malicious.”
Garin’s legislative district also cropped up as
among the areas that benefited from the “fertilizer fund scam,” which involved
the diversion of about P728 million to former President and now Pampanga Rep.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s campaign fund during the 2004 election period.
The timing of the report on Loreto-Garin’s alleged
involvement in Nabcor funds anomaly was also suspect.
It rolled off the press two weeks after she was
installed as acting DOH secretary when “sick” Secretary Enrique Ona went on
leave last October 29.
The story was also played up in the national media
several days after it was reported that the National Bureau of Investigation
(NBI) has been investigating since June the DOH's purchase of expensive
vaccines in 2012 despite a recommendation to buy more cost-effective ones.
Known as the “DOH vaccine mess”, it implicated Ona
and Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag.
The deal was reportedly “contrary to the
recommendation of the National Center for Pharmaceutical Access and Management
(NCPAM), the Formulary Executive Council (FEC) and the World Health
Organization (WHO) which recommended PCV 13 which is said to be more
cost-effective.”
INSIDERS
Did some DOH insiders orchestrate the release of the
story about Loreto-Garin’s alleged involvement in the Nabcor funds anomaly to divert
public attention on the mess Ona and Tayag were in?
Was it intended to derail Loreto-Garin’s possible
appointment as full-fledged DOH secretary just in case Ona could not anymore
regain his post?
Loreto-Garin herself smelled fish with the timing
of the disclosure of the Nabcor funds mess investigation even as she denied
allegations her appointment in the DOH was politically motivated.
“These past few days, there were insinuations that
my designation as acting secretary is all about politics. I call on Secretary
Ona and Undersecretary Teodoro Herbosa to refute this. They know the truth. I
admit, I was a politician but does that prevent me from serving our country? I
am not perfect but I was able to do a lot of good things when I was a
congresswoman,” she said.
Without the Nabcor funds ruckus, my November 12
article would have been prophetic: Loreto-Garin to remain as the only DOH
bigwig untarnished by issue of graft and corruption.
Now that the hornet’s nest has been stirred, both
Ona, Tayag and Loreto-Garin are on the same dilemma.
They are all now facing investigation for alleged
anomalies.
Until their guilt has been established, it’s too
premature to call them as members of the DOH’s "Hall of Shame."
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