ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Department of Health (DOH) will limit the launching of programs during this election season.
This, according to DOH Assistant Secretary Enrique Tayag on Tuesday saying the the move aims to shield the agency’s programs from politicians who want to advance their political ambitions.
“Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has reminded that heatlh services should not be politicized,” Tayag said in a press conference on the sidelines of the opening of the 3rd West Metro Medical Symposium and Exposition here.
Tayag said the DOH is closely monitoring the activities of the Barangay Health Workers (BHW) to ensure they don’t get involved in political activities.
“We received reports that the BHWs are being used in the political campaign in the guise of rendering health services,” he added citing that some politicians tend to use health services
“because this can be easily felt by the residents.”
Tayag’s pronouncement is timely since it was the second to the last day of the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2019 mid-term elections.
Tayag was keynote speaker of the two-day 3rd West Metro Medical Symposium and Exposition organized by the West Metro Medical Center, a private hospital here that opened in 2016. (R. G. Antonet Go/PNA)
