It is as if President Duterte is still

A former law enforcement officer again?

treating COVID-19 and other health issues as a peace and order
problem, appointing law enforcers in positions that are better suited for
health professionals and experts.

His predecessor ricardo morales also had no public health experience because he is from
the military sector and that ended terribly for PhilHealth

In Section 14 of the UHC law, it is stated that:

1. The PhilHealth Board of Directors or the Board shall be the ones to

recommend the President the person to appoint as the new chief of the state
insurer.
2. This person must be:
“A Filipino citizen and must have at least seven years of experience in the field of public
health, management, finance and health economics or a combination of any of these
expertise.”

Senator Francisco
Pangilinan said in a press release that in the selection of Gierran, Malacanang again "c
hose to disregard" public 
health skills, citing Morales' tenure in PhilHealth that ended "terribly" because of his lack 
of experience for the role. Morales' history as a military man, similar to Gierran, also did 
not satisfy the specified credentials to head the state-run institution.

Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) chairman and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno also believes that
there are many more persons more qualifies than Gierran. He said in a social media post that experts are
needed and not someone who is having an on the job training.

Furthermore, community doctors and health advocates fear that the

appointment of Dante Gierran may put people’s lives in peril. The
Citizens Urgent Response to End Covid-19 (CURE Covid)
spokesperson Julia Caguiat also believes that he is not qualified even
if he is an accountant because his experience is more on criminal
investigation and law enforcement.

Gierran admitted as much in an interview over the ANC News Channel, where he is
quoted as having said: “I’m very scared. I’m scared because I don’t know the
operations of PhilHealth. Unlike NBI, I knew the operations of NBI. But PhilHealth,
wala. I do not know about public health.”

I strongly believe that what is needed to solve the twin crisis of COVID and corruption that plagues the
Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the government response to the pandemic is a person with
medical experience as well as financial knowledge.

We may have different opinions but at the end of the day we all have one desire. We, as
a concerned member of the society, simply want what is best for the welfare of the
people and we all need someone who will take full responsibility in protecting human
rights. Always keep in mind that our voice as a citizen matters, so let it be heard.