Duterte reappoints Francis Duque to DOH

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday reappointed former health secretary Francis Duque III as chief of the Department of Health.

“Pursuant to the provisions of Section 16, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution and existing laws, you are hereby appointed ad interim Secretary, DOH,” Duterte’s letter of appointment to Duque read.

Duque would replace former Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial, whose ad interim appointment was rejected by the Commission on Appointments.

“Secretary Duque is not new to the DOH. He used to be its Secretary from June 2005 to January 2010. We wish him well in his present stint in the government,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

The newly appointed health chief was part of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s cabinet and served as a health secretary from 2005 to 2009.

Prior to assuming post as DOH chief, Duque was the president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. from 2001 to 2005.

Duque was cited by the World Health Organization “for being one of the only three countries with an excellent risk communication strategies against AH1N1.”

Last February, Duque was was elected chairman of the Government Service Insurance System by its board of trustees. He was first appointed by Duterte as a member of the GSIS on February 15 but he was nominated by the Governance Commission for Government-owned and Controlled Corporations as chair.

Aside from his health-related agency stints, Duque also served as the chair of the Civil Service Commission from 2010 to 2015.