A NEWLY-ELECTED mayor of a coastal municipality in the province of Romblon is under fire for signing an executive order dated two weeks before assuming public office.
According to lawyer Allan Zuniega, in his capacity as legal counsel of Magdiwang Municipal Health Officer Elaine Ong-Tansiongco, Mayor Noel Machon signed Executive Order 011, dated June 17,2025.
Under EO 011, Machon ordered the creation of an expanded local health board, which according to Zuniega is in itself a violation of Republic Act 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991), which states that the local health board may only be composed of five members.
Under RA 7160, the local health board should only have five members — the local chief executive as chairman, the local health officer as vice-chair, and one representative each from the local legislative body, the Department of Health (DOH), and from the private sector or non-governmental organizations involved in health services.
“We were under the impression that the EO signed by Mayor Machon is a simple violation of RA 7160… but after reading the order, I realized that the date that he supposedly signed the document constitutes a criminal offense of usurpation of authority,” Zuniega told The PH Insider.
Aside from creating an expanded health board, Zuniega likewise questioned the motive behind the long list of names who were appointed as members of the “expanded local health board.”
“Most of them are not even close or may have very little knowledge and experience in rural healthcare… may dalawa pa yatang school principal and the rest, we were told, are his political supporters,” he added.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the term of office for most elected officials, including the President, Vice-President, Senators, and local government officials, begins at noon on June 30th following their election.
Aside from the premature release of appointment papers, Zuniega also took note of Machon’s Memorandum Order 003 warranting an “on-call duty system” for staff at the Municipal Health Office without the prior approval of the Municipal Health Board.
Under RA 7160, Zuniega added, such a directive holds no legal weight without the approval of the Municipal Health Board.
“Under the Local Government Code, executive orders from municipal mayors must first be approved by the provincial governor. But in this case, he was not yet the mayor when he created the Expanded Health Board,” the lawyer stressed.
“What’s even more concerning is that he went ahead and signed an executive order appointing members to the expanded municipal health board,” Zuniega added.
Meanwhile, DOH’s Dr. Jonathan Maglaya, who serves as the Doctor to the Barrio, claims to have consulted the health department regarding Memorandum Order No. 003.
Maglaya relayed what his DOH superiors told him — “Any program related to health services must first pass through and receive approval from the Municipal Health Board.”
Zuniega likewise urged Machon to seriously consider upholding the rights of the healthcare workers as provided under then law — “What’s even worse, there was no mention in his order that on-call duties would be remunerated, as provided under Republic Act 7305 or the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers.”
Mayor Machon has yet to issue an official statement.