Paulyn Jean Buenaflor Rosell-Ubial (born June 29, 1962) is a Filipino physician who served as

Secretary of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate Minister of Mental Health, ...

on an ''ad interim'' basis under the Duterte administration. President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

nominated her in 2016, but the Commission on Appointments rejected her appointment in 2017. She spent her entire career in public health and was an assistant secretary of the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

from 2008 to 2016.

Early life

Paulyn Jean Buenaflor Rosell was born on June 29, 1962, in

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

. Her father, Neon Rosell, was a zoology professor at the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

(UP Diliman), while her mother was Maria Buenaflor. For elementary and high school, she attended the University of the Philippines Integrated School in Diliman. She then earned her Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from UP Diliman in 1983, and her

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree from the

University of the East The University of the East (), also known as UE, is a private university located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1946, business tycoon Lucio Tan acquired the university in 1990. UE was once labeled as the "largest university in Asia" when i ...

in 1987. She completed her

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

at the Philippine General Hospital. Her family owns a farm in M'lang,

Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...

. Her relatives, Rodolfo Buenaflor and Luigi Cuerpo, had served as mayors of the town.

Career

Department of Health

Ubial began her career as a volunteer rural physician in

Kidapawan Kidapawan, officially the City of Kidapawan (; ; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kidapawan''; Obo language, Obo Monuvu: ''Ingod to Kidapawan''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and the capital ...

, Cotabato in 1988. The following year, she became a medical specialist for the

(DOH) and was assigned to

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ; Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Dakbayan sa Cotabato''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, inde ...

. In 1990, she eventually became the assistant city health officer of Cotabato City. She was then assigned to the DOH headquarters in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

in 1991, where she headed the Polio Eradication Unit. She also worked for other programs of the DOH, including the Communicable Disease Control Service and various

women's health Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated ...

programs. From 2001 to 2005, she was the assistant regional director of the

Western Visayas Western Visayas (; ; ) is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. The region comprises the islands of Panay and Guimaras Island, Guimaras. It consists of five Provinces of the ...

Center for Health Development, and was later promoted to regional director of Davao Center for Health Development, serving from 2006 to 2008. In

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

, she became acquainted with then-mayor

. From 2008 to June 2016, she was an Assistant Secretary of the DOH. During her stint in Manila, she earned her

Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL) are interdisciplinary profes ...

degree from UP Manila.

Secretary of Health

After Duterte won the 2016 presidential election, Ubial was named as the incoming

. She is an anti-tobacco advocate. She helped author Executive Order 26, which bans smoking in enclosed public places and transportation servicing the general population, except in designated smoking areas. The Commission on Appointments (CA) did not approve of Ubial's appointment as Health Secretary on October 10, 2017, ending her '' de facto'' tenure. Kabayan Representative

Harry Roque Herminio Harry Lopez Roque Jr. (; born October 21, 1966) is a Filipino lawyer, politician, and former law professor. He served as the presidential spokesperson of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2017 to 2018 and from 2020 to 2021. He was the pa ...

, lawyer Restituto Mendoza, and Potenciano Malvar, medical director of the General Miguel M. Malvar Medical Foundation officially filed opposition to her appointment. Her dealings with PhilHealth 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.

Later career

As of October 2020, Ubial is the head of the

Philippine Red Cross The Philippine Red Cross (PRC; ; ) is a non-profit humanitarian organization and a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The PRC was established in 1947, with roots in the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colon ...

biomolecular laboratories.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ubial, Paulyn 1962 births Living people Duterte administration cabinet members Benigno Aquino III administration personnel Arroyo administration personnel Filipino public health doctors Filipino civil servants Filipino women civil servants People from Cotabato People from Iloilo City Secretaries of health of the Philippines University of the East alumni Women members of the Cabinet of the Philippines 20th-century Filipino medical doctors 21st-century Filipino medical doctors 20th-century Filipino women medical doctors 21st-century Filipino women medical doctors Women public health doctors