Questions were raised about the intention of Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Ted Herbosa’s remarks on the Super Health Center in Marikina City after a portion of his statement was caught on the agency’s Facebook Live stream.
During an inspection of a Super Health Center (SHC) in Marikina, Herbosa was heard saying in a live TV interview, “At least tayo ang nag-expose… It’s better [na] tayo nag-expose kaysa tayo in-expose. Bahala na sila magpaliwanag: si LGU.”
(At least we were the ones who exposed it. It’s better that we exposed it than be the ones exposed. Let them [from the Local Government Unit] be the ones to explain.)
However, the DOH abruptly cut the live broadcast shortly after Herbosa’s comment, prompting speculation online about the agency’s decision to end the stream at that moment.
Sec. Herbosa’s statement referred to the SHC in Concepcion Dos, which he called non-operational.
The local government, however, responded by saying it decided to shoulder the construction expenses after the DOH failed to release funding for the succeeding phases of the project.
The local government conveyed its intention in a letter to Herbosa dated October 9, 2025.
“Dahil kailangan ng tao ang serbisyong medikal, kami na ang kusang nagdesisyon magallocate ng P200 million budget dito sa aming budget for 2026. (Because people need medical services, we voluntarily decided to allocate a P200 million budget for this in our 2026 budget.)
“The super health center will not just give basic health services but also integrate an autism center for people with special needs,” said Mayor Teodoro.
Marikina had also written to the DOH in 2024 requesting an additional ₱180 million to complete the four-story Super Health Center, but the agency did not provide any funding.
Phase 1 of the project was completed in 2024, funded with ₱21 million under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), which only covered the so-called foundational works.
“To be clear, we have done our part as the local government to complete the first phase of the project in line with the budget provided by the DOH. Ang DOH ang may pagkukulang,” said Mayor Teodoro.
CinemaBravo 
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