Go’s panel ‘sat‘ on hospital bills for 15 months before reporting them out – Drilon

Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon attended Tuesday’s plenary session via teleconferencing. (Photo from a Senate video)

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon turned the tables on Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go on Tuesday as he pointed out that the Committee on Health and Demographics, which Go chairs, “sat” for 15 months on the local hospital bills that they had been debating on last week before finally reporting them out to the plenary.

Drilon pointed this out during Tuesday’s plenary session to refute Go’s insinuation that he had been deliberately delaying the passage of the bills, which seek to establish, renationalize, or enhance through increased bed capacity, among others, local hospitals in various parts of the country.

Citing Senate records, Drilon said the bills had been referred to Go’s health committee as early as the first quarter of 2020 and were only reported out in plenary 15 months after.

“For 15 months, the proposed laws were stuck in Senate because the committee had not touched them. Why did it take 15 months for them to be brought to the plenary?” Drilon said in Filipino.

On Tuesday, Drilon’s interpellation on the bills sponsored by Go resumed.

Last May 20, Go tried to end interpellations on the bills, saying it was urgent for them to be approved in order to address the shortage of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients due to the surge infections.

“It was not my questioning that caused the delay [in the approval of the bills],” Drilon said. “I asked questions only last week. But they [the bills] were with the committee for 15 months. If we are concerned for the lives of our countrymen, then they should have been tackled right away. A year has passed and we should have already done this.”

He cited as an example House Bill No. 2583, which seeks to increase the bed capacity of a lying-in clinic in Rizal, Palawan. Drilon said the measure was referred to Go’s panel on Jan. 20, 2020.

“It was after 10 months when the committee conducted its first hearing,” Drilon said. “For 10 months, the committee sat on the bill before calling for a committee hearing. More than six months passed before this proposed law was sponsored on May 17.”

“What a pity for the residents of Rizal, Palawan,” he went on. “They waited for 15 months, and it was not because of our questioning but because the committee did not act on it.”

Before Drilon made these remarks, Go delivered a 30-minute manifestation reiterating his appeal for the immediate passage of the bills.

“We’re in a health emergency. Why are we having difficulty passing these in Senate? It’s very clear in this pandemic that we have a big shortage in hospitals,” Go said.

“As of today, more than 20,000 have died of COVID-19,” he went on. “This should not be an issue of funding. As of now, what’s important is that Filipino have somewhere they can run to… I’m not appealing for pity. I’m stating the reality.”

Drilon said he felt that Go was again accusing him of delaying the approval of the bills.

He said Go’s manifestation “compelled” him to point to the records of the Senate showing the bills’ progress — or the lack of it — under the neophyte senator’s committee.

Go then denied that his committee “slept” on the said bills: “Hindi po natin pinapatulog po ito.”

He said there were “so many factors that contributed to the time it took to report these bills to [the] plenary.”

Among the factors he was referring to was the COVID-19 cases recorded among Senate employees. Go said his committee had to wait for the completion of documentary requirements for the bills before he could report them out to the plenary.

“Also, last year, we also focused on COVID-19 bills,” Go said.

At this point, Drilon confronted Go about his insinuation.

WATCH: Exchange between Drilon and Go

"So hindi po totoo Senador Go na pinapatagal ko po itong mga pagpasa nitong mga batas na ito?" Drilon asks Go. | @inquirerdotnet pic.twitter.com/cFU981aJLC

— Christia Ramos (@christiaramos_) May 25, 2021

“So it’s not true, Senator Go, that I’m delaying the passage of these bills? Because it’s clear that as early as January the bills were already with the Committee on Health, of which you are the chairman, and that’s where the proposed laws stayed for so long?” Drilon asked.

When Go did not directly answer the question, Drilon pressed for a categorical answer.

“I have a specific question,” Drilon said. “I didn’t really want to bring this up, but you made a long manifestation where, in effect, you were still blaming me. You were asking in the previous session why I was delaying the passage of these bills.”

In response, Go said: “We are in the middle of a pandemic, and we don’t want to waste time, and I know you have a good heart to help our fellow Filipinos.”

Drilon then recalled Go’s remarks last May 20, insinuating that he was against the measures since he was asking many questions about it.

“You really said it. And pointing to me, you said that ‘you pretend to support these bills, but in fact, you do not.’ And you’re saying that I was delaying the passage of these bills. Isn’t that true?” Drilon asked.

Go once again did not answer Drilon’s question directly, but said: “Now I am convinced that you are willing to help these measures to be passed.”

At this point, Senate President Vicente Sotto III intervened and said that Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri should move to close the period of interpellations on the measure and move forward to the period of amendments.

In the earlier part of Tuesday’s interpellation, Drilon said he would be willing to terminate his interpellation and would just propose amendments to the measures.

Drilon said he told Sotto before the session that he “found a solution” to the problem of funding the local hospitals covered by the bills.

He proposed, among others, that the funding for the proposal to increase the hospital bed capacity be sourced from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) and the Pension and Gratuity Fund (PGF), which amount to P18.3 billion and P17.45 billion, respectively.

Tuesday’s session adjourned, however, without the second reading approval of the bills.

The chamber will continue discussing amendments on Wednesday.

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