In his former role as health secretary, Flavier put in place a model national immunization program and aggressively championed birth control programs despite opposition from the powerful Catholic Church. Flavier's can-do spirit, combined with his winning, populist ways, led President Fidel Ramos to choose him to head the ruling coalition's senatorial slate. In April, Flavier played a key role in convincing Ramos to fire controversial health secretary Hilarion Ramiro, following allegations that the Health Department was involved in overpricing of medical supplies. You just have to clean up government little by little.
Pollution causes diseases.
On a scale of one to 10, he rates environmental quality in the Philippines at four. Our forest destruction is one of the highest in the world. Air pollution at Manila's main EDSA highway is three times the allowable limit. Few would argue with him about the dangers of polluting factories or clear-cut logging. They are ruining the landscape, he argues.