Herbosa Battles Global Chaos While Cayetano Battles for 2028 Airtime: Guess Who’s Actually at the Office

Secretary Herbosa’s To-Do List: Vaccines, Cold Chains, Ombudsman. Cayetano’s To-Do List: Trend on SocMed

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — December 1, 2025

AN OLD man in the province is waiting for his flu shot.
The vaccine was supposed to come in March or April.
It will finally land in December — with an expiration date of 31 December.

That, mga ka-kweba, is the current state of “just-in-time” delivery at the Department of Health.
“Just in time” now officially means just in time to be almost useless.

Welcome back to the cave.

1. The Delays Are Real — and They Are Killing People

Flu vaccines for seniors are most effective before the rainy season peaks.
Arriving in December instead of April–July means reduced protection and looming expiry.
Routine childhood vaccines are also late.
National immunization coverage: stuck at 61 % when the target is 95 %.

These are not statistics.
These are preventable illnesses.
These are preventable deaths.

2. Secretary Herbosa and the Limits of “We’re Fixing It”

***“Roll Up Your Sleeves, Lolo… for the Camera Angle That Cares.”***

Secretary Herbosa did not create the procurement mess — he inherited a broken system. Global supply chains are complicated, bidder challenges are real, and the Mandanas ruling devolved responsibilities to LGUs without always giving them the tools or the pricing power to act fast.

That acknowledged, excuses only go so far. Firing one procurement officer and announcing another committee plus “framework contracts” are steps forward — but they are reactive, not preventive. The public has every right to ask: why were the same problems that appeared in 2023 and 2024 not anticipated and aggressively fixed in 2025? Leadership is measured by fires prevented, not just fires extinguished.

3. Senator Cayetano’s Righteous Anger (With a Side of Theater)

He is correct on the facts:

Cambodia and Laos get their vaccines on time.
The Philippines should be able to do the same.
Someone must be held accountable.

His frustration is shared by every senior citizen still waiting and every parent staring at an incomplete immunization card.

The delivery, however, is often calibrated for viral soundbites rather than lasting legislation. When your own sister is the DOH budget sponsor calmly explaining the department’s reform plans, the optics inevitably raise an eyebrow — even when the substance of the critique is valid.

4. The True Villain: A System Built to Fail

Herbosa is wrestling with real constraints. Cayetano is scoring real political points. Neither is the root problem.

The root problem is the unholy trinity of:

Devolution that pushed duties downward without money or authority
A procurement law so terrified of corruption it paralyzes honest buying
A bureaucracy where “forming a committee” counts as decisive action

Until those structural faults are repaired, we will just keep changing the actors while the play stays exactly the same.

What Must Happen Now — No More Drama, No More Excuses

To Secretary Herbosa and the Executive Branch

Within 15 days: publish the complete, itemized timeline of every delayed vaccine procurement (bidding → award → shipping → customs → delivery).
Fast-track the framework contracts and announce the first awards before Christmas recess.
Issue an emergency order granting LGUs temporary authority to buy vaccines at DOH-negotiated prices until permanent legislation is passed.

To the Senate, especially Senator Alan Peter Cayetano

Turn the anger into legislation — file the bill that:
- Clarifies LGU emergency procurement powers
- Mandates multi-year framework agreements for essential medicines and vaccines
- Imposes automatic penalties for repeated lapses
Attach measurable, enforceable deliverables to the 2026 DOH budget. Miss them → funds automatically withheld.

We have had enough shouting matches.
We have had enough committees.
We have had enough expired medicine and empty promises.

The Filipino people need vaccines that arrive when they still work, medicines that reach the sick, and a government that treats public health as an urgent duty — not as a bargaining chip or a campaign prop.

Get it done.
Or get out of the way.

— Barok