THE Commission on Appointments on Tuesday rejected the appointment of Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial, who became the fifth member of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet to fail to win confirmation.
The decision, reached through secret voting in an executive session, was announced during the CA plenary session.
Senator Gregorio Honasan II, chairman of the commission’s health committee, said the panel had reached “a difficult decision” to reject Ubial’s appointment, with 13 members voting against her confirmation.
Ubial’s appointment had been opposed by several parties, whose allegations she denied.
Interviewed by reporters after the confirmation hearing, a teary-eyed Ubial told reporters she cries easily because she’s fond of watching teledramas.
She said she would abide by the CA decision as it was part of the constitutional process.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, who had grilled Ubial last week about her travels abroad, sometimes with family members, said, “Smoking is dangerous to your health, like lying is dangerous to your confirmation.”
Former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. interim president Hildegardes Dineros had earlier accused Ubial of lying when she said he resigned voluntarily, saying he was ousted upon her instigation.
A PhilHealth employee, Marie Fe Francisco, also opposed Ubial’s confirmation, accusing her of “grave abuse of power and usurpation of authority.”
Francisco said she was among 150 PhilHealth employees who signed a manifesto against Ubial’s appointment, saying she violated their rights to due process when she arbitrarily suspended allowances and salary adjustments due to a notice of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit.
Ubial said that while it pained her to remove the compensation and allowances of PhilHealth employees, she had to follow the law.
During the hearing, Senator Manny Pacquiao also questioned Ubial over a social media post by her son, which criticized the senator.
“Perhaps, she should tell her son Karl not to comment because it’s bad that you’re doing your job in the government… and then there are bad comments on the other leaders of the country,” Pacquiao said.
Ubial said her son was willing to make a public apology. “I’m sure my son does not want to jeopardize my confirmation,” she said.
Party-list Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque had slammed Ubial for her flip-flopping on the Zika virus and the delay in the procurement of the dengue vaccine in favor of the pneumonia vaccine.
Hs also accused Ubial, as PhilHealth chairperson, of controlling internal affairs for her own benefit. He also complained about Ubial’s “excessive foreign travels” in her first few months in office.
Ubial’s son Karl, had joined some of her official trips abroad, but Ubial said they personally shouldered the expenses.
The Palace on Tuesday expressed regret over the decision.
“We regret the Commission on Appointments’ non-confirmation of Department of Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
said that the Duterte administration is deeply grateful “for Ubial’s service to the Health Department and for epitomizing the President’s malasakit through her “All for Health, towards Health for All” Philippine Health Agenda.”
“We wish Secretary Ubial well in all her future endeavors,” he added.
Ubial is the fifth Cabinet official appointed by President Duterte to be rejected by the CA, and the eighth to leave the Cabinet.
The other four officials rejected were Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.
Vice President Leni Robredo, who served as Housing Secretary and Information and Communications Technology Secretary Rodolfo Salalima resigned, while another Cabinet secretary, former Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno was fired by Duterte amid allegations of corruption.
Ubial was bypassed late last year after Roque raised concerns over her qualifications for the post.
“We averted a major public health disaster,” Roque said in a statement after the CA rejected Ubial’s appointment.
“The DoH [Department of Health] deserves a decisive leader and I call on President Duterte to appoint an exceptional doctor with proven managerial skills to head the DoH,” he said.
“The success of universal health care and all other health reforms of the administration lies in the hands of the next DoH secretary. Let us not blow the opportunity the second time around,” he added.