President Arroyo has appointed Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral as new secretary of the Department of Health (DoH), replacing Francisco Duque who was named Civil Service Commission (CSC) chairman.

DSWD Undersecretary Celia Yangco was designated to assume the post vacated by Cabral, said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

Ermita said the President also made acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera permanent head of the department with the issuance of her ad interim appointment. Devanadera has been serving as acting justice secretary since June, 2009 while serving as concurrent solicitor-general.

The latest Cabinet rigodon was prompted by the departure of former CSC chairman Ricardo Saludo who failed to get the nod of the influential Commission on Appointments last October. After the CA ruled he did not meet the minimum requirements for the CSC post, Saludo was designated as secretary general of the Philippine Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Commission.

Cabral, a cardiologist, has been working with the Arroyo Cabinet since February, 2006 relatively with little controversy. She recently confronted allegations of rotting relief items in DSWD warehouses in the aftermath of the strong typhoons last year.

Before her appointment to the DSWD, Cabral was a commissioner representing Science and Health of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. A medical degree holder from University of the Philippines, Cabral previously served as director of the Philippine Heart Center and consultant to agencies such as DoH, Dangerous Drugs Board, the Bureau of Food and Drugs.

Duque was appointed health secretary in 2005 after serving as president of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation since 2001.

The outgoing health chief earlier expressed optimism he would get the approval of the CA as CSC chairman despite being a non-lawyer. Duque abandoned his plans to run for a congressional seat in Pangasinan after he was reportedly informed about his imminent CSC position.

Yangco has been in government in the past 45 years. Prior to her appointment, she serves as DSWD undersecretary supervising the department’s Operations and Capacity Building Group. Yangco is the sister of the late Press Undersecretary Jose Capadocia.