Ubial rejected as health chief, and this is what the Internet has to say

 

MANILA, Philippines – On Tuesday, October 10, the Commission on Appointments rejected the ad interim appointment of Paulyn Ubial to lead the Department of Health (DOH).

The Internet was relatively silent, however, unlike during the rejection of other appointees of President Rodrigo Duterte, when online rage was immediately sparked.  

Senator Gregorio Honasan II, CA health committee chair, said before the CA plenary that with 13 members voting against Ubial’s confirmation, the panel decided to “withhold its consent to the ad interim appointment” of Ubial.

Previously, the CA rejected the appointment of Perfecto Yasay Jr as foreign affairs secretary, Gina Lopez as environment secretary, Judy Taguiwalo as social welfare secretary, and Rafael Mariano as agrarian reform secretary.

In the case of Ubial, there were a few netizens who disagreed with the vote of the Commission on Appointments, but the reactions certainly did not create enough buzz online.

Controversies

Controversies marked Ubial’s short-lived term as DOH secretary.

Four oppositions were filed against her appointment, with one complainant citing her supposed record of “flip-flopping.” Ubial has been caught changing her stance on major health issues, such as the dengue vaccine, the status of the Zika virus in the country, and recently, the number of evacuees who died of health-related causes in Marawi City.

Last week, Senator Vicente Sotto III questioned Ubial about her frequent travels abroad in just a year.

The last opposition was filed by Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) employee Marie Fe Francisco, who claimed that Ubial was exercising “grave abuse of power and usurpation of authority.”

Perhaps due to these controversies, Ubial did not enjoy the same mass support received by Lopez, Taguiwalo, and Mariano.

Before being appointed as secretary, Ubial was DOH assistant secretary for health regulations.

Ubial’s son

Ubial’s son, Karl, caught attention after Senator Manny Pacquiao raised during the hearing the social media posts made by the young man. 

“Siguro pagsabihan natin si Karl na you’re doing your job in the DOH, tapos may mga comment na masama doon sa ibang lider ng bansa, especially sa administration. Pangit naman,” said Pacquiao. 

(Maybe you should tell Karl that it is not okay that you’re doing your job in the DOH and yet he’s commenting negatively on other leaders of the country, especially those allied with the administration. That’s not good.)

Several netizens said Karl does not have to apologize to the senator.

Ubial said she had spoken to her son, who was willing to make a public apology. 

Here’s what netizens had to say about the issue:

Karl Ubial – Curated tweets by MovePH

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