Herbosa, DOH undersecretary face raps over alleged fiscal lapses

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Health (DOH) chief Teodoro Herbosa and Undersecretary Randy Escolango face a complaint in the Office of the Ombudsman over their alleged “blatant disregard of standard fiscal checkpoints,” which ensures checks and balances, when the latter was appointed in a key position.

The complainants, identified only as concerned DOH personnel, lodged their complaint with the anti-graft body on Wednesday, saying that Herbosa and Escolango are liable under Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

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They urged the Ombudsman to investigate Herbosa and Escolango for possible filing of cases and for anti-graft body to issue a preventive suspension.

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Inquirer sought the comment of Herbosa, but he has yet to respond as of posting, while this publication is still trying to contact Escolango.

On Feb. 5, Herbosa, through the Department Personnel Order (DPO) No. 2026-0700, defined the interim assignments of the DOH Executive Committee. Under the said order, complainants said Escolango “was granted explicit, overarching administrative control and direct oversight” over the Financial and Management Service and the Supply Chain Management Service.

Then, on Feb. 13, Herbosa issued DPO No. 2026-1080, reconstituting the Central Office Bids and Awards Committee (Cobac) to process remaining calendar year (CY) 2025 procurements and conduct early procurement activities for CY 2026.

“In blatant disregard of standard fiscal checkpoints, DPO No. 2026- 1080 designated Respondent Undersecretary Escolango as the Chairperson of Cobac-A,” the complaint stated.

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According to the complainants, Cobac-A holds exclusive jurisdiction over high-value public portfolios, including drugs and medicines, vaccines and other biological products, family planning pharmaceuticals, and herbal medicines.

The complainants said Herbosa and Escolango should be held liable under Section 3(e) of RA No. 3019, which penalizes any public officers who cause any undue injury to any party, including the government, or give any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage, or preference through manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence.

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Both of them, the complainants said, are liable through “manifest partiality, which is “a clear, notorious, or plain inclination to favor one side over another,” and “evident bad faith” or “a palpable and patently fraudulent and dishonest purpose to do moral obliquity or conscious wrongdoing for some perverse motive or ill will.”

“By integrating fund authorization, bid evaluation, and contract delivery implementation into a single authority, the respondents deliberately removed the statutory check-and- balance architecture,” the complaint said.

“The agency is left completely vulnerable to substandard medical supplies, delayed distribution networks, and falsified delivery receipts, which can be easily absorbed and covered up within the respondents’ integrated executive workflow,” it also said. /das

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