Marcos on appointing DOH chief: ‘Pag normalize na 

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Thursday that he would only appoint a health secretary if the country's situation had already returned to normal in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
 
On the sidelines of a business event at the Manila Hotel, Marcos was asked when he planned to appoint a Department of Health (DOH) secretary amid the continuing threat of the pandemic.

“Paabutin natin doon and then we will normalize also the reorganization of the government,” Marcos told reporters.

"When that happens, when what I just explained happens. The same as DA (Department of Agriculture) na maayos na, normalize na.”
 
"The reason is I want people to understand that this is the government's work, not everything is a crisis, so inormalize natin ang trabaho ng gobyerno. That is what I am trying to do, so that everyday functions are fulfilled, everyday without fuss, without bother, without gulo, without fixers, without paying, 'yan ang inaayos ko. So that is what I am hoping to get to that point, especially in the DOH and DA," he added. 
 
At present, Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire sits as the DOH's officer-in-charge.
 
Marcos in September extended the state of calamity throughout the Philippines due to COVID-19 until December 31, 2022. —VBL, GMA News