Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (PPAB)

Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin has warned the public to be wary of the disinformation supposedly being spread by a “fear-peddling” doctor, noting its threat to public health.

“Intentionally distorting medical facts on public health is the breeding ground of infodemics,” Garin said in a statement on Friday, Dec. 20.

The former Department of Health (DOH) secretary is referring to health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon, who she claims is spreading “digital false information”.

Leachon, a former special adviser for non-communicable diseases at the DOH, recently issued an open letter addressed to President Marcos urging him to veto the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which embodies the national budget for next year.

In this letter, Leachon criticized the diversion of the funds allocated from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to unprogrammed funds. He said this was a “betrayal” of the promised accessible healthcare for all Filipinos under the Universal Health Care Law.

Garin, a deputy majority leader, debunked this claim as she stressed that zero funding to PhilHealth would not affect its members.

She noted that the agency has enough funds to fulfill its service to people’s medical concerns and needs.

With this, the congresswoman stressed the need to combat the “epidemic” of wellness-related fake news. She said the World Health Organization (WHO) itself has stressed the need to flatten the curve of health disinformation.

“We should not keep mum if there is somebody sowing intrigues and disinformation among the general public," said Garin.

"Pinaglalaruan lang ang mga Pilipino ni Tony Leachon dahil karamihan sa kanyang sinasabi ay pawang twisted information," she added.

(Tony Leachon is just toying with the Filipinos because most of what he says is twisted information.)

Garin earlier criticized Leachon for his criticisms on the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Tingog Party-list, PhilHealth, and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) on the construction of hospitals and other facilities. 

She accused Leachon of injecting politics into public health. 

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'Panggap na eksperto': Garin hits Leachon, defends Tingog MOA