HEALTH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Sunday, October 5, 2025, said the Department of Health (DOH) has long taken action ahead of the revelations on alleged “ghost” health centers and irregularities in the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program.
In a social media post, Herbosa said the agency had been conducting investigations even before reports of the alleged irregularities surfaced.
“The DOH has been investigating these anomalies way before the media picked it up,” Herbosa said.
He made the statement in response to Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s claims of irregularities in the DOH’s MAIFIP program.
Congress has also questioned the existence of so-called “ghost health centers,” noting that only 200 out of the 600 facilities built under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) were deemed functional.
Herbosa said the department has been helping build cases against those behind the supposed MAIFIP irregularities.
“Several actions have already been taken, and we continue to build up cases,” the health chief said.
He added that the DOH is also assessing the capacity of the said health centers to operate.
“We are looking at options to operationalize nonfunctioning but completed health facilities,” Herbosa said.
The controversy involving the DOH comes on the heels of the allegedly anomalous flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)