Lawmakers on Monday, September 14, raised concerns over the lack of hospitals in areas where they are most needed. 

During the House hearing on the budget of the Department of Health (DOH), Anakalusugan Representative Mike Defensor said that every year the government is allotting P20 billion for the health facilities enhancement program (HFEP), but the country still lacks hospitals.

“Sa isang situation na walang COVID, papayagan natin ito. Pero ngayon, nakita natin na may COVID, kahit mild walang (For a situation without COVID, we can allow this. But now with COVID, even for mild cases, there are not) enough hospitals, particularly public hospitals, to accommodate them,” Defensor said.

Defensor shared his conversation with Aklan Representative Teodorico Haresco Jr about the lack of hospitals in Aklan province, where the famous island of Boracay is located.

“Cong Haresco, mayroon bang hospital sa distrito mo? Wala. Kahit level 1? Wala. Kapag may nagkasakit sa Boracay, may maliit na district hospital ka ba diyan for first aid? Wala. So what is health facilities enhancement program for?” Defensor said.

(Cong Hareso, is there a hospital in your district? None. Even Level 1? None. In case someone gets sick in Boracay, is there a small district hospital there for first aid? None. So what is health facilities enhancement program for?)

Measly budget for barangay health centers

Defensor also questioned the measly allocation for barangay health centers in some municipalities in the country for 2021.

Municipalities in Nueva Ecija, for example, are allocated only P100,000 for their HFEP. “Isang daang libo for the different municipalities in Nueva Ecija?” Defensor asked. (P1,000 for the different municipalities in Nueva Ecija?)

This is also the same allocation for 3 health centers in Baguio City, which are also allocated P100,000 each, Defensor said.

Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez asked the DOH to look into how it is allocating the HFEP budget across cities and municipalities in the country.

“We have to look into this. If we distribute [the P20 million], majority of that will be around P100,000 to P200,000, how far can that get us? Considering that Cong Haresco’s district has no hospital, why don’t we prioritize to get them primary care so people will have somewhere to run to?” Fernandez said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Primary care

In response, DOH Undersecretary Lilibeth David said that their priority under Universal Health Care is primary care.

“Ito po ‘yung (These are) barangay health station and rural health units… they provide more cost-effective care. You get it at the early stage so the cost of attending to them is cheaper than when you allow it to become worse that they need to go to the hospital,” David said.

Unconvinced Defensor pressed further, “Kung mag-a-allocate po kayo ng P100,000, that’s for what? Anong saysay? Parang we’re wasting funds.” (If you allocate P100,000 each, that’s for what? What is it for? It’s like we’re wasting funds.)

“Sa completion na lang po ng equipment lang nila, so ‘yung priority naman po natin is to see to it that they are functional,” David said, adding that with P100,00, barangay health centers can procure stethoscopes, ECG (electrocardiogram), and the like. (It’s for the completion of their equipment, our priority is to see that they are functional.)

Due to the lack of a clear explanation regarding the budget allocated for HFEP, Defensor moved to suspend the approval of the DOH’s budget.

As the country battles the coronavirus pandemic, the DOH is seeking a bigger budget of P203.74 billion in 2021. This is 27% higher than the prior year. – Rappler.com