Later, he became the Director-General of the Department of Medical Services and Secretary-General of the Food and Drug Administration and held the highest position, as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health.
[3][4] Mongkol was a member of the na Songkhla family, who are of Thai Chinese heritage and maintained good relations with bureaucratic elites during the 18th and 19th centuries.
[6][7][8] Notable among his measures was the making the 30-baht universal healthcare program completely free; after criticism from the Budget Bureau, the government later cut the universal healthcare program budget from a subsidy of 2,089 baht per head, compared to the previously proposed figure of 1,899 baht.
[9][10] Another notable measure taken while he was Minister of Health was the issuance of compulsory licenses for several patented drugs.
Although this proposed ban was not signed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thai broadcasters and publishers have voluntarily observed it.