The new head of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) should be advised by the people around her to exercise greater prudence and caution. Otherwise, the number of her enemies may keep growing and take a toll on her and the FDA at some point in time.
Nela Charade Puno is the current director general of this once-obscure agency. She was named to the post by President Duterte, and it appears she has managed to put the decrepit agency back in good, fighting form. Puno has been cracking down consistently and effectively on merchants and syndicates peddling fake or unregistered health, food and cosmetics products. Thanks to the help of Philippine National Police Chief Ronald M. de la Rosa and former Chief Superintendent Allen Bantolo, Puno’s campaign against these risky products has produced results and apparently gained the respect of the public.
The problem is, Puno appears to also have the knack of making enemies.
Last we heard from media reports, Puno’s Regulatory Enforcement Unit led by Bantolo raided a major food and goods outlet. The FDA was responding to complaints from buyers that the said outlet was allegedly selling bundled food items that are either expired or nearing expiration.
The raid got both good mileage and reactions. It may have also displeased some very powerful interests that have direct access to political personalities in this country. Puno should be made aware of this. There are parties that would not take her law enforcement success sitting down.
Latest we heard is that another “nemesis” is planning to get back at Puno. It appears this person lost a valuable post in government because Duterte, out of the blue, just showed this person the exit door. The apparent reason given by the President was that this person had been involved in transactions that fail the tests of morality, legality and transparency.
Well, somebody must have told the President about the alleged misdeeds.
Now, the fired official is reportedly planning a massive black propaganda effort against the FDA and Puno herself.
Why Puno appears to have been singled out by this person baffles many. Some say this is because Puno is said to have a direct access to the President and has Duterte’s ears. Puno has also been unrelenting in her bid to rid the FDA of mediocre and corrupt elements.
The other possibility is that the person is aware that Puno’s agency itself may have been a “victim” of whatever this person has been accused of by the President. The person must have realized that Puno may be capable of getting back at those who disadvantage her agency.
It may be true that, in this country today, the President’s trust and ears are important. Puno, however, must be extra careful. The forces she has been colliding with are also capable of getting back at her, and the President may not be there all the time to protect her.
If it is true that this person fired by the President is planning a black- propaganda operation against Puno, then he has read the situation well. This person must have seen that the list of interests offended by Puno seems to be growing.
Already, Puno is under fire from so-called Pro-life groups. It will be recalled that the Supreme Court had issued an order stopping the implementation of the country’s reproductive health law. The lifting of the stop-order is contingent on something Puno must do: review and recertify that two controversial contraceptives being opposed by the Pro-life groups do not cause abortion.
The person fired by the President and who is reportedly planning a massive attack on Puno and the FDA really has something to build and capitalize on. As the saying goes, in this country, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
The person fired by Duterte is said to have powerful connections. It is safe to presume this person will use those connections to get back at the party or parties who reported the corrupt practices to the President.
We cannot fault this person for doing this. After all, the person did not get a chance to present a defense before the President. According to Duterte himself, the President was so angry with this person that he threatened to give this person a kick.
This person may not be able to move on in life until revenge happens. Whether or not Puno believes in the speculations about a black prop against her in the offing, there is a need for precaution. Sure, the public is not asking her to stop her determined campaign against the peddlers of risky and unregistered products. However, she should make sure she knows whose toes she is stepping on.
Rotary to assist in rebuilding Marawi
The Rotary Club of Manila (RCM), the first to be established in the Philippines way back in 1919, will take an active role in rebuilding war-torn Marawi City as part of its centennial celebration in 2018-2019. RCM, with lawyer Jimmie Policarpio as its current president, will be helping in the humanitarian effort along with 10 other Rotary Clubs consisting of some 25,000 members, according to one of its officers, former Interior Secretary
Rafael M. Alunan III.
I had a brief chat with Sec. Alunan on the sidelines of the latest Saturday Forum@Annabel’s. He said their humanitarian assistance in Marawi will focus on filling in four gaps.
One, they will assist soldiers and internally displaced people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They will tap psychologists and psychiatrists to give counsel to the soldiers who were in the frontlines of the fierce battles with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-linked Maute Group and have to deal with the psychological effects of war. Alunan said two prominent psychologists, Gregorio Diokno and Dulce Gust, have volunteered their services and will study the long-term effects of PTSD.
Two, the Rotarians will provide prostheses to the troops who were wounded in battle and lost their limbs as a result. This would be coupled with morale-raising activities, such as visits by celebrities and beauty queens and entertainers to hospitals where the injured troops are recuperating.
Third, they will conduct medical missions in different communities in Marawi from now until 2019. The Rotarians will request for the free services of volunteer doctors and other medical personnel and provide medicines to those who need it most.
And fourth, the civic group will provide adequate water and sanitation services to communities to prevent the outbreak of dengue and malaria epidemics in vulnerable communities. As part of this endeavor, they will also conduct fumigation activities and information dissemination on how to prevent health-related concerns.
These four activities under what they call the “One Rotary, One Philippines, One Marawi” program will be undertaken in close coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, national government agencies, local government units and other civil-society groups.
E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com.