Palace names OICs for DOH, DICT

The Palace façade featured on the briefing room signage (Photo By Office of the Executive Secretary – http://www.malacanang.gov.ph/, Public Domain)

MANILA — Malacañang has appointed officers-in-charge (OICs) for the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to fill up the leadership vacuum of the two agencies and “to ensure the continuous and effective delivery of public service.”

The designation was contained in memorandums signed Tuesday by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, by authority of the President, but was released only Thursday.

Appointed were Undersecretary Herminigildo V. Valle and Undersecretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. as OICs of the DOH and the DICT, respectively.

Valle, the Undersecretary for the Office for Field Implementation and Management (OFIM), was appointed OIC following the rejection of the ad interim appointment of Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial by the Commission on Appointments (CA) on Tuesday.

Ubial became the fifth Cabinet member appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to be rejected by the powerful CA.

The others were Perfecto Yasay Jr. (Foreign Affairs), Regina Lopez (Environment), Judy Taguiwalo (Social Welfare) and Rafael Mariano (Agrarian Reform).

Meanwhile, Rio, who is the Undersecretary for Special Concerns, replaced DICT Secretary Rodolfo Salalima who supposedly resigned last September 21.

Salalima said he tendered his resignation for “personal and work-related reasons.”

However, in an interview aired on state-run PTV-4 on September 29, President Duterte said he asked his former classmate in the San Beda Law School to resign for “favoring a certain company.”

Before joining Duterte’s Cabinet, Salalima held a senior position at telecommunications giant Globe Telecoms.

He joined Globe in 1993 and went on to become senior vice president for corporate and regulatory affairs until his retirement in 2008.