MANILA — Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire on Thursday disclosed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had not offered her the agency's top post, which remained vacant almost 4 months since he took office.

"No, honestly. It was not offered. I was asked to be an OIC (officer-in-charge)," Vergeire told ANC's "Headstart".

She also admitted having reservations on being the country's top health official.

"I was able to explain to them also my reservations and he (Marcos) just said, just continue to do the work and then we will discuss further," she said.

Vergeire is a career official who has been with the agency for nearly 3 decades.

She noted that a DOH chief could only serve for up to 6 years.

"So, kapag ka may term po kasi tayo, kapag ka ganiyan, it’s only 6 years. And by the time I finish the 6 years, I still have years left to serve. And I want to still serve, of course, until I retire. So, isa ho 'yan sa reservation," she said.

(That will be only 6 years... So that is one of my reservations.)

"But as I always say, if I am here for service, ito pong mga ganitong rason, siyempre we set it aside and if you really want to serve. So, we will see po in the coming months, days kung ano po ang magiging decision ng ating Presidente," she added.

(But as I always say, if I am here for service, we set aside reasons like this... We will see the decision of our President in the coming months, days.)

As officer-in-charge, Vergeire said her banner program is providing primary healthcare to marginalized sectors, aside from managing the pandemic.

• DOH chief post offered but doctors declined - Garin

Iloilo First District Rep. and former Health Secretary Janette Garin recently said many doctors have been offered the position of DOH chief but have declined.

The reasons they cited included not wanting to give up their practice and the fear of possibly facing legal cases due to the procurement process in the agency, she said.

Marcos said last week that he would name a health secretary once the country's COVID-19 situation normalizes.

As of Wednesday, there were 21,325 active COVID-19 cases in the country.

• 18K daily COVID cases seen if PH lifts mask rule indoors - DOH

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