2 lawmakers seek more funding for health infra amid COVID-19 pandemic

MANILA, Philippines — Two lawmakers on Tuesday called for more funding for the government’s health infrastructure program, with one of them saying that the COVID-19 pandemic should provide the push for a bigger budget for health.

During a joint teleconference with Quezon Rep. Angelina “Helen” Tan, Sen. Pia Cayetano renewed her call for the passage of a bill that would allocate an annual budget of P10 billion for the improvement of health facilities in priority areas nationwide.

Cayetano’s Senate Bill No. 63, or the ‘Build, Build, Build for Health’ Bill, seeks to put in place a comprehensive and sustainable approach to health infrastructure over the next five years.

“As we begin a new normal due to the COVID-19 threat, we need to be forward thinking and put health care infrastructure on top of our priorities,” the senator said in an earlier statement.

Under the bill, the Department of Health (DOH) would be assigned to “determine priority health infrastructure needs of government hospitals to be integrated in a five-year plan.”

“If communities are self-sufficient and can take care of the basic health care needs of their residents, that is already a huge step forward,” Cayetano said. “The next step would be the establishment of specialty medical centers for patients who need to be referred to these specialists.”

The senator added that Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) chief, Vince Dizon, who is also the presidential adviser for flagship programs, “will be taking up” her proposal with concerned officials.

“I’ve discussed this with Secretary Vince Dizon…so he’s very aware, and he will be taking this up with the team — that the health infrastructure should be part of our ‘Build, Build, Build’,” she said, speaking partly in Filipino.

For her part, Tan said the COVID-19 pandemic should provide the push for more budget allocation for healthcare service in the Philippines.

“This is the realization that, definitely, we need to really invest on health. I hope for the 2021 budget, they’ll put more because we’ve realized that we are lacking in the areas of  human health workforce and in infrastructure,” Tan, chair of the House health committee, said during the teleconference.

“So definitely, the problem with COVID-19 will push for more budget,” she added.

According to Tan, a bigger budget should be allocated to upgrade the country’s laboratories and hospitals in preparation for other possible health emergencies.

“We have Level-3 laboratories, but they are yet to be readily available for testing. So, we need to capacitate them,” she said.

Assistance should also be given to local government units (LGUs) in their efforts to improve their own health care system, Tan added.

To date, the Department of Health has confirmed 7,958 COVID-19 patients in the country, of whom 975 have recovered and 530 have died.

/atm