First orders

Wanda Teo has resigned as DOT secretary, due to the controversy surrounding the placement of DOT commercials on her brother’s show on PTV-4. Perhaps she was given a graceful exit by President Duterte. Duterte himself has said he recently fired someone. Teo insisted she did nothing wrong because the DOT was dealing with PTV-4, and she claims did not know where their ads would be placed. Of course, everyone sees the elephant in the room. This is a clear case of conflict of interest, to the tune of sixty million pesos. The Tulfo brothers will supposedly return the money. Still the Ombudsman wants to investigate the controversy. It may not be over yet for the Tulfos.

Within hours, a new tourism secretary was announced. Agriculture Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat. She is the daughter of former senator Alberto Romulo, who is no stranger to public service. She has also served in government for the past twelve years. In the first speech of Duterte after Teo resigned, he lamented having to fire his friends, because of talks of corruption. These are supposedly the same people who egged him to run. Many would say “now we know why.” We will just have to wait and see if the revolving door policy of this administration spins again, such as it did for Faeldon and La Viña.

President Duterte only asked of one thing from Bernadette Romulo Puyat. Do not steal from government. The vernacular is much more precise --“mangurakot”. She promised to do just that, and that no conflict of interest would happen under her watch. It would be interesting to notice Duterte’s first orders to the newly-appointed officials. He told Secretary Menardo Guevarra to restore dignity to the DOJ. He told Director General Oscar Albayalde to be strict and to focus on internal discipline on the PNP. And now he tells Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat not to steal. He seems to have asked the opposite of what the former officials were allegedly doing.

With that in mind, what will happen to PhilHealth OIC Celestina Ma. Jude dela Serna? According to the COA, dela Serna has spent more than six hundred thousand pesos for her travels to and from Tagbilaran, despite the almost nine billion pesos in losses by PhilHealth. According to dela Serna, there is an explanation for all the expenses, and all she is asking is for President Duterte to hear her out. The palace is currently investigating the issue. Private hospitals have also complained of not being paid by PhilHealth, also to the tune of billions. A “hospital holiday” has been threatened by the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines in order to survive. One solution being floated is that hospitals would no longer be accredited with PhilHealth, so as not to be obliged to service its members. Of course, it is the members that get hit the hardest. All this under dela Serna’s watch. Perhaps we can say that her position at PhilHealth is now on shaky ground.