Cabral named DOH chief; Duque to head CSC

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo has appointed Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral as the new Health secretary to succeed Francisco Duque III, who was transferred to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Cabral will be replaced by Social Welfare Undersecretary for Operations Celia Capadocia-Yangco in an acting capacity.

Palace officials said Cabral is most suited to head the health department, being a multi-awarded cardiologist.

Cabral, for her part, vowed to continue the good programs of Duque.

“In the limited time that I have, I will do my best to continue the good programs of Secretary Duque, particularly in reducing the inequities in health care,” Cabral told The STAR yesterday.

Cabral also thanked President Arroyo “for another opportunity to be of service to the country.”

“I am honored to serve the Filipino people in this capacity just as I was honored to serve them for four years as DSWD secretary,” she said.

Cabral was appointed DSWD secretary in February 2006.

She served as director of the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) from 1986 to 1994.

She was also a professor at the University of the Philippines’ College of Medicine and studied and trained at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Yangco, on the other hand, is a career official who has worked at the DSWD for over 40 years. She is the sister of the late Press Undersecretary Jose Capadocia Jr.

Duque was earlier appointed to the CSC but his nomination were not taken up by the bicameral Commission on Appointments last month. His post carries a fixed seven-year term.

He was appointed Health Secretary in 2005 after previously serving as president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth).

Ermita also announced that Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera no longer holds the post in acting capacity.

Mrs. Arroyo last week appointed government corporate counsel Alberto Agra as Solicitor General, a post earlier held by Devanadera in concurrent capacity.

Devanadera is now the permanent secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ).