The President’s Men and Women: DOH chief to promote reproductive health

Health Secretary Enrique Ona admitted he was reluctant to accept the position because he was very happy with his life as a “clinician.”

MANILA, Philippines – New Health Secretary Enrique Ona vowed to promote reproductive health and to expand the membership and benefit packages of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in the next three years.

According to Ona, he received five orders from President Aquino, foremost of which is the expansion of PhilHealth coverage.

“That is a very heavy assignment since we are well aware of the fact that many of our people are not able to get adequate health care and die without even seeing a health worker,” he said.

The government wants to increase PhilHealth membership by encouraging those who are not yet members but who can pay the annual P1,200 premium to enroll themselves.

“We want the people to be responsible for their own health. There is a limit on how far government can help,” Ona said.

Ona said the Department of Health, under the Aquino administration, would also promote reproductive health as a means to ensure the health and welfare of the family.

To do this, the department would conduct an information campaign on responsible parenthood by giving all possible options to achieve family size based on one’s desire and capacity.

The DOH, Ona said, would also make essential quality drugs more affordable and accessible by “maximizing the opportunities provided under the Generics Law and the Cheaper Medicine Act.”

Ona further said the DOH would adopt “zero-based budgeting” to ensure that DOH resources are properly aligned to priorities and to have a developed health care delivery system.

The DOH has been instructed by Mr. Aquino to practice zero corruption at all levels to raise funds for health projects.

Surprise appointment

Ona’s appointment as health secretary came as a surprise to those in the medical industry since his name did not crop up when President Aquino was forming his Cabinet.

“It’s not in my radar. I’m a clinician. I deal directly with patients. That’s my bread and butter and that’s exactly what I wanted my life to be. As a DOH secretary, you will be setting policies. I won’t be able to treat patients again so I said I’m not ready for it,” Ona said.

Except for his doctor-son, Enrique Stanley, who is based in the United States, the health chief’s wife, Norma and three other sons – Manolo Steven, Arsenio Kenneth and Victor Gabriel – did not immediately agree to the idea of him becoming the DOH secretary.

But Ona accepted the position.

“The usual cliché of government service – hopefully we can do something for the country. But when you really think about it, it’s really a very serious responsibility that each Filipino should take up,” Ona said.

Ready for challenges

Ona said he is not the type who backs out from challenges and “developing things” – the reason he entered the field of vascular and transplant surgeries.

The health chief got exposed to health and medicine at an early age since his father was also a doctor – the first provincial health officer of Zamboanga del Sur – while his mother was a periculture nurse.

“Our house in Pagadian was in front of the church and every day I would see dead people being brought there and the coffins were so small. So as early as then I already knew that many of those dying were kids, for lack of care and lack of education in care,” he said.

Ona said he will surely miss his patients.

“I have operations scheduled for the next two weeks – six operations and more than half of them are for transplant. I have to look for doctors for the patients now,” Ona said.

The 71-year-old Ona is one of the country’s leading transplant surgeons. Before joining the DOH, he was director of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute for 11 years, and has been the president of the Transplantation Society of the Philippines since 1989.

In 1979, he was a Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee in medicine.

He was also given the Presidential Award of Recognition in Organ Transplantation in 2000.

Ona also has a medical license for Massachusetts. –Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)