Undoubtedly, the President has the absolute authority/sole prerogative of appointing the members of his Cabinet and/or other government executives based on certain criteria that he sees fit.
Given this scenario, may I suggest/propose that part of the said criteria should include, among others, the overall qualifications and adequate experiences of the soon-to-be-appointed official, as well as the timeliness due to the urgency/criticality regarding said appointments?
In particular and with due respect to the President, I beg to disagree with the alleged “consideration” taken by him that the appointment of the secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) should be made only when the effects of the COVID-19, among others, should have already “normalized.”
On the contrary, said appointment should be made NOW, while the COVID-19 infections are still lingering in our midst, to ensure that the DOH secretary would be able to effectively manage and face squarely the challenges arising therefrom.
In the same vein, the appointment of another critical position, the secretary of the Department of Agriculture, remains to be seen.
Emiliano M. Manahan Jr.,Advocate and author