Paulyn Ubial | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Ubial in 2017 | |
| Secretary of Health | |
| In office June 30, 2016 – October 10, 2017 | |
| President | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Preceded by | Janette Garin |
| Succeeded by | Herminigildo Valle (OIC) |
| Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health | |
| In office April 29, 2008 – June 30, 2016 | |
| President | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Benigno Aquino III |
| Secretary | Francisco Duque III Esperanza Cabral Enrique Ona Janette Garin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paulyn Jean Buenaflor Rosell (1962-06-29)June 29, 1962 (age 63) Iloilo City, Philippines |
| Spouse | Edwin F. Ubial |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of the Philippines Integrated School |
| Alma mater | University of the Philippines Diliman (BS) University of the East (MD) University of the Philippines Manila (M.P.H.) |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Profession | Physician |
Paulyn Jean Buenaflor Rosell-Ubial[1] (born June 29, 1962)[2] is a Filipino physician who served asSecretary of Health on anad interim basis under theDuterte administration. PresidentRodrigo Duterte nominated her in 2016, but theCommission on Appointments rejected her appointment in 2017.
She spent her entire career in public health and was an assistant secretary of theDepartment of Health from 2008 to 2016.
Paulyn Jean Buenaflor Rosell was born on June 29, 1962, inIloilo City. Her father, Neon Rosell, was a zoology professor at theUniversity of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman), while her mother was Maria Buenaflor. For elementary and high school, she attended the University of the Philippines Integrated School inDiliman. She then earned her Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from UP Diliman in 1983, and herDoctor of Medicine degree from theUniversity of the East in 1987. She completed herinternship at thePhilippine General Hospital.[3][4][5]
Her family owns a farm inM'lang,Cotabato. Her relatives, Rodolfo Buenaflor and Luigi Cuerpo, had served as mayors of the town.[5][6]
Ubial began her career as a volunteer rural physician inKidapawan, Cotabato in 1988. The following year, she became a medical specialist for theDepartment of Health (DOH) and was assigned toCotabato City. In 1990, she eventually became the assistant city health officer of Cotabato City. She was then assigned to the DOH headquarters inManila in 1991, where she headed the Polio Eradication Unit.[7] She also worked for other programs of the DOH, including the Communicable Disease Control Service and variouswomen's health programs.[3] From 2001 to 2005, she was the assistant regional director of theWestern Visayas Center for Health Development, and was later promoted to regional director ofDavao Center for Health Development, serving from 2006 to 2008.[8] InDavao City, she became acquainted with then-mayorRodrigo Duterte.[9][10][11]
From 2008 to June 2016, she was an Assistant Secretary of the DOH.[8]
During her stint in Manila, she earned herMaster of Public Health degree fromUP Manila.[7][3]
After Duterte won the2016 presidential election, Ubial was named as the incomingSecretary of Health.[12]
She is an anti-tobacco advocate.[2] She helped author Executive Order 26, which bans smoking in enclosed public places and transportation servicing the general population, except in designated smoking areas.[13]
TheCommission on Appointments (CA) did not approve of[clarification needed] Ubial's appointment as Health Secretary on October 10, 2017, ending herde facto tenure.[14] Kabayan RepresentativeHarry Roque, lawyer Restituto Mendoza, and Potenciano Malvar, medical director of the General Miguel M. Malvar Medical Foundation officially filed opposition to her appointment. Her dealings withPhilHealth was contentious, which led 150 of the organization's employees to oppose her appointment, citing her decision to suspend the allowances and salary adjustments of Philhealth's employees which caused "extreme demoralization". Former CEO and President of PhilHealth Hildegardes Dineros disputed the nature of his departure from Philhealth. He claimed that he was forcibly removed from his post by Ubial and did not voluntary resign as she claimed.[15]
As of October 2020, Ubial is the head of thePhilippine Red Cross biomolecular laboratories.[16]
Media related toPaulyn Ubial at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Secretary of Health 2016–2017 | Succeeded by |
