Cardiologist and clinical pharmacologist, she served as Secretary of the Department of Health in the Philippines. Prior to that appointment she was Secretary of Health to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Former Secretary of Health and Secretary of Social Welfare and Development
Dr. Cabral graduated from the UP College of Medicine and completed her training in Internal Medicine, Cardiology and Clinical Pharmacology at the Philippine General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She was Associate Professor at the Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology of the UPCM, Director of the Philippine Heart Center, President of the Philippine College of Physicians, the Philippine Heart Association and the Philippine Society of Hypertension. In a recent Forum, Dr. Cabral stressed that, “for health technology to be appropriate, feasible and driven by public health goals, it should be designed in coordination with both the public and private sector, and most importantly with the community, patients and health-care providers.” Dr. Cabral stated that “contact tracing is really important but it can only be effective if the tests are done and results come out quickly”. She also highlighted the importance of engaging the private sector and the community to participate in the government’s response in addressing the current health crisis. In her statement, “one of the most important things in leadership is to get everybody together–pulling in one direction….It is a given that we should be one—cooperating with each other to get out of this deep hole we are in”.
Dr. Cabral submitted a report to President Duterte, identifying the factors that would lead to the responsible easing of the community quarantine. The paper had inputs from Drs. Brian Michael Cabral, Minguita Padilla, Junice Melgar, Kenneth Hartigan-Go, and Eugene Ramos.