Even as the Department of Health (DOH) sinks deeper into a cycle of corruption allegations, a promotional video pushing Secretary Ted Herbosa as a future senator is quietly making the rounds among top DOH officials and government figures outside the agency.
The one-minute, 25-second material features a voice-over arguing that having a former health secretary in the Senate would be beneficial, citing the late Senator Juan Flavier—who served as health chief under the Ramos administration before winning two Senate terms—as a precedent.
“Noon nakita ko kung gaano kaganda kung may doctor sa Senado. Ito po ang napatunayan ni dating Senador Juan Flavier na aking sinuportahan din para maging senador at kikita ko yan kay Secretary Ted,” the voice-over said.
The material also plays on Herbosa’s name as an acronym—”Tumutugon, Epektibo at Determinado” —casting him in a positive light despite a department mired in controversy.
Herbosa and 16 other DOH officials face Ombudsman complaints over more than P1.4 billion worth of medicines and vaccines that allegedly expired under their watch, with complainants also alleging a deliberate cover-up to keep the public from finding out about the wastage.
A separate complaint had earlier been filed against DOH Undersecretary Glenn Mathew Baggao over allegedly anomalous contracts, while a Rappler report revealed that Baggao’s brother secured at least P140.99 million worth of DOH infrastructure projects in 2025 through EGB Construction.
Baggao was later assigned to oversee health service clusters in Luzon, where several of those projects are located, raising conflict-of-interest concerns.
As of posting, Herbosa has not issued a public statement on the Ombudsman complaints, with the DOH previously maintaining that allegations from anonymous groups should not be taken at face value.
