Department of Health (DOH) Officer-in-Charge (DOH) Maria Rosario Vergeire expressed openness if ever she will be assigned as the next head of the state health agency.

“Let us just try to see kung ano ang kakahinatnan. We are all always praying kung ano po ang ating mapupuntahan (where this will lead us. We are all always praying for wherever our destination may be),” said Vergeire during a press briefing on Wednesday, July 20.

For now, Vergeire said she is focusing her attention on serving the public as DOH OIC.

“Tuloy-tuloy lang po tayo. Let's take a day at a time. Gagawin po natin lahat ng kailangan gawin for us to deliver itong mga commitments natin para sa ating mga kababayan (We will just continue. Let's take a day at a time. We will do everything necessary for us to deliver these commitments for our citizens),” she said.

“Kahit ano po ang mangyari, tayo po ay patuloy na susuporta dito sa ating administrasyon na meron tayo ngayon at patuloy din po nating ibibigay ang serbisyo, 100 percent para sa ating mga kababayan (No matter what happens, we will continue to support our current administration and we will also continue to give 100 percent commitment to serve our citizens),” she said.

Recently some senators lauded the appointment of Vergeire as DOH OIC. She has been one of the familiar faces in the country’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Senator Grace Poe said that Vergeire "may be a good candidate to consider for the DOH secretary position." Poe described the DOH OIC as “very calm, seems knowledgeable, rational, fair and impartial" as well as "straightforward when updating the public."

Vergeire expressed her gratitude to those who are supporting her.

“Nagpapasalamat po tayo sa tiwala na binibigay hindi lamang po ng ating Pangulo, pati na rin po ng ating ibang kababayan na nagbigay ng kanilang (We are grateful for the trust given not only by our President, but also by some of our citizens—who have given their) manifestations of support and trust. So, I thank all of you for that,” she said.

New NVOC chief, DOH spox

Meanwhile, Vergeire said that Health Assistant Secretary Nestor Santiago has been designated as the new incident manager of the National Covid-19 Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC).

Prior to this, Vergeire replaced former DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje as the head of NVOC.

The DOH OIC described Santiago as “very much capable.” However, Vergeire said that Santiago will still directly report to her.

“I will still oversee the operations, kung ano man pong mga targets ang kailangan pa natin (whatever targets we still need), policy directions, and decision making,” she said.

Moreover, Vergeire will still remain as the DOH spokesperson but assigned DOH Director Dr. Beverly Ho as her assistant spokesperson.

“Because of the load of work right now, hindi ko laging mapagbibigyan ang mga (I can't always grant) requests for interview, so I designated Dr. Beverly Ho as my assistant or deputy, as being the assistant spokesperson,” she said.

“Kapag hindi ako available (If I’m not available), she will do the task, so we can continuously inform the public,” she said.