Hontiveros, Drilon vow to restore P8.4-B budget for health workers

Opposition Senators Franklin Drilon and Risa Hontiveros vowed Monday to restore the P8.4 billion slashed in the 2019 proposed budget of the Department of Health (DOH) that was meant for its program for health workers.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier warned that the P8.4-billion cut for the Health Human Resources Deployment might lead to around 15,000 health workers nationwide losing their jobs.

In general, the DOH’s proposed budget for 2019, including that of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, was down to around P141 billion, or P30 billion less than their original proposal of P171 billion.

“Hindi po ako papayag na hindi maibalik ang budget para sa 15,000 kawani ng Department of Health (I will not let the budget to not be returned to the Department of Health),” Drilon told reporters in an interview.

Drilon further said that he would not let the budget be passed unless this “injustice” is settled.

Hontiveros, meanwhile, also criticized the lower budget, saying it was a “massive setback” in the goal to provide universal health care.

According to Hontiveros, lower budget for human resources would mean less doctors, nurses, dentists, and other health workers in rural areas and poor communities.

“Less health workers means less health services. Less health services means less opportunities for Filipinos to lead healthy lives,” she said in a statement.

She also asked Duque to submit to the Senate a list of DOH’s “priority among priorities” to settle the issue.

“Walang tigil na nga ang mga sakuna ng mamamayan sa bagyo, matataas na presyo ng bilihin at dagdag na pagbubuwis. Huwag naman sana pati sa kapos na serbisyong kalusugan ang mamamayan ay magtiis,” she said.

(Calamities suffered by our citizens due to typhoons are endless, prices on goods and additional taxes are also high. I hope the citizens will not also suffer from a lacking health service.)
/kga

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