Unnamed complainants calling themselves the Alliance for Clean and Transparent Government filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman against Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo and Director Kristina Marasigan.
The complaint alleged self-interest and self-promotion through a radio program.
According to the complaint, Herbosa and the two officials acted as radio show anchors on “PINASigla” and allegedly benefited from a P98 million contract for the program, which airs every Saturday on media outlets owned by Philippine Collective Media Corporation, 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-worth contract for media placement in various platforms and a co-produced live program for the promotion of DOH health services and programs,” the complaint stated.
The group said the respondents’ appearances effectively made them media talents or employees, alleging that Herbosa engaged in outside employment while holding a Cabinet post, in violation of constitutional provisions.
The group also cited Marasigan’s relationship to Franco Reyes, head of current affairs and public service of Media Serbisyo Production Corporation, PCMC’s content provider.
“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 said.
“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 media exposure and personal branding?” it added.
The group said the officials used their authority to create a government-funded broadcast platform while acting as principal hosts, which it described as 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 appears to be a pattern of repeated filing of complaints despite the circumstances being frivolous,” Domingo said.
Herbosa said Filipinos have the right to health education and access to information on disease prevention and treatment, adding that the allegations were meant to distract from more pressing issues.
“DoH delivers transparent and reliable health information through engagements of its officials and staff with many media channels. These comply with government procurement laws and respect media ethics,” Herbosa said.