PHOTO by DAPHNE GALVEZ / INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – The early completion of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Universal Healthcare (UHC) Act will depend on whether or not the agencies assigned to draft it can resolve the “hanging questions” about the country’s local health system, a health official said Monday.
“We’re trying to produce it (IRR) before the end of July but of course it will depend a lot on so many of the hanging questions, if we can easily resolve that in the next few weeks,” Health Undersecretary Mario Villaverde told reporters on the sidelines of a forum on the partnership of the Department of Health (DOH) with the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on the implementation of the UHC.
Asked to further explain his statement, Villaverde said that the government bodies assigned to create the IRR still have to determine how to go about the health system at the local level.
“Yung papaano mo io-organize ang local health system. Are we amending ba yung local government code when it comes to the fragmented health system? Kasi ang sabi sa batas is province-wide, so papaano natin gagawing province-wide kung hindi natin maiaayos yung may municipal, may city, may province?” he said.
“So paano mo mailalagay yan sa isang integrated, managerial system kung hindi mo i-aayos yung organization na integrated din,” he added.
Under the law, the IRR must be crafted by the DOH and PhilHealth in coordination with national government agencies and civil society organizations not later than 180 days upon the effectivity of the law which was signed in February.
READ: Universal healthcare now a law
The IRR is needed to provide guidelines on how the law will be implemented.
Villaverde further noted that the DOH still has to conduct public consultations in the local government units nationwide to establish the best way to organize the local health system.
“Para mas makita kung ano ang magiging consensus at kung ano ang magiging mga proposal from the [frontlines] including the local government units when it comes to how best we can organize the local health system pushing for the intent of the law na province-wide or city-wide health system siya,” he said.