Unnamed complainants calling themselves the Alliance for Clean and Transparent Government (ACTGov) have filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against Department of Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo, and Director and former broadcast journalist Kristina Marasigan.
The complaint accuses the officials of alleged self-interest and self-promotion through their participation in a radio program.
According to the complaint, Herbosa and the two other officials acted as radio show anchors for the program “PINASigla,” which allegedly benefited from a P98-million government contract. The program airs every Saturday on media outlets owned by Philippine Collective Media Corporation (PCMC), including DZMM Teleradyo and RTV Prime Media.
“The radio program is not a mere hobby or advocacy platform. It is produced, broadcast, and monetized by PCMC. In fact, through the influence of the Respondents, PCMC was awarded a P98,000,000.00-worth contract for Media Placement in Various Platforms and Co-produced Live Program for the Promotion of DOH Health Services and Programs,” the complaint stated.
The group argued that the respondents’ regular appearance on the show effectively made them media talents or employees, claiming this constituted outside employment while holding government positions and allegedly violated constitutional restrictions.
The complaint also cited Marasigan’s relationship to Franco Reyes, identified as the head of current affairs and public service of Media Serbisyo Production Corporation, the content provider of PCMC.
“The law does not prohibit health promotion. What it prohibits is a public officer using public funds to generate a platform from which he himself benefits," the group stated.
“The question is, was the P98 million radio program genuinely for public health promotion, or was it a publicly financed vehicle for Respondent Herbosa’s own media exposure and personal branding?” they added.
According to ACTGov, the officials allegedly used their authority to establish a government-funded broadcast platform in which they also served as principal personalities, which the group described as “the clearest form of manifest partiality and evident bad faith.”
In response, DOH officials said they have yet to receive a copy of the complaint.
"We have yet to receive a copy of the complaint from the Ombudsman. Nevertheless, all our anchoring and hosting duties are fully compliant with government rules and regulations. There clearly is a pattern of repeated filing of complaints despite the circumstances being frivolous." Asec. Domingo said.
Herbosa, for his part, said Filipinos have the right to health education and access to accurate information on disease prevention and treatment, adding that the allegations were meant to distract from more pressing concerns.
“DOH delivers transparent and reliable health information through the engagements of its officials and staff with many media channels. These comply with government procurement laws, and respect the specific media ethics of each broadcasting platform,” Herbosa said.
“We have yet to receive a copy of the complaint from the Ombudsman. Nevertheless, all our anchoring and hosting duties are fully compliant with government rules and regulations. It appears that the complaints are frivolous claims designed to distract from factual and more pressing issues,” he added.