Not illegal for DOH chief to pose with tobacco execs – Palace
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa (extreme right), along with First Lady Liza Aranete-Marcos and Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, poses for a photo with executives of Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co. during a turnover ceremony for mobile laboratory clinics and a water station in Malacañang last March 20, 2025. —Photo from the Facebook page of Liza Marcos
MANILA, Philippines — Undersecretary Claire Castro of the Presidential Communications Office PCO) defended on Wednesday Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa for posing for a photo with tobacco industry executives during a turnover ceremony for mobile laboratory clinics and a water station in Malacañang.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, Castro said that merely posing for photos was not illegal.
“If the DOH [Department of Health] did not accept a donation from the tobacco company, we do not see any violation of any law,” Castro said in Filipino.
“Even if he participated in a photo opportunity, it does not necessarily mean that he’s violating any law,” she added.
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Herbosa faced criticism from the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) for posing for photographs with some executives of Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co.
The company donated mobile laboratory clinics and a water station to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on March 20, and Herbosa was present at the event.
SEATCA Executive Director Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo slammed Herbosa’s action, saying it undermined his credibility.
“Worse than the hypocrisy of the tobacco industry (donating mobile clinics while causing deaths and diseases) is the lack of integrity of the Secretary of Health attending this event and posing happily for a group photo, trading public health principles and ethics for political convenience, violating CSC-DOH JMC 2010-01,” Dorotheo said in a Facebook post last March 23.
“I consider Sec. Ted Herbosa a colleague and mentor, but I do not mince my words when I say he has lost all credibility. The Philippines, under this government, does NOT deserve to lead the World Health Assembly. This 3rd Sunday of Lent, let us pray for credible, ethical leadership,” he added.
CSC-DOH JMC 2010-01 prohibits government officials from unnecessary interactions or accepting donations from the tobacco industry.
During Wednesday’s briefing, Castro maintained that government agencies could accept donations as long as it would not violate any law.
“Kung may pagkakataon po na nagbibgay ng donasyon ang sino man po at ito’y ikabubuti ng pamahalaan, basta walang violation ng ano mang rule o batas, hindi naman tayo tatanggi sa ano mang tulong,” she said.
“If there’s a donation being given and this is for the good of government, as long as there’s no violation of the law or rules, we will not decline any form of help,” she said.
Aside from Dorotheo, health advocate Dr. Anthony Leachon condemned Herbosa’s action and called it a “lapse in judgment.”
“Health Secretary Ted Herbosa, the very person entrusted to defend our nation’s health, stood smiling beside executives of a tobacco company, an industry that has claimed the lives of millions. This is not just a lapse in judgment. This is a deliberate act that spits in the face of every Filipino who has lost a father, a mother, a brother, or a sister to tobacco-related illnesses,” he said in a Facebook post last March 25.
“It is an insult to every doctor, nurse, and healthcare worker fighting daily against lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory failure caused by cigarette smoking,” he added.
黑料社 reached out to the DOH for comment but has not received a response as of this writing.
