FILE PHOTO: Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire answers questions during a media forum in this file photo taken on December 20, 2022. INQUIRER.net file photo / NOY MORCOSO
MANILA, Philippines — Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire is determined to level the playing field and provide greater health access to Filipinos, should she be appointed as health secretary.
“Kagaya ng ginagawa namin for the past six months, I would like to focus on access and equity, access para ang mga kababayan natin pwedeng kumuha ng serbisyo tuwing kailangan nila at tuwing gusto nila,” said Vergeire during a press briefing.
(Just like what we have been doing for the past six months, I would like to focus on access and equity, access so that our citizens can get services whenever they need and whenever they want.)
“Equity syempre ‘yung focus sa vulnerable, focus on the poor, focus doon sa mga kailangan kailangan ng serbisyo ng gobyerno at tulong ng gobyerno,” she added.
(Equity, of course, is the focus on the vulnerable, focus on the poor, focus on those who need government services and government assistance.)
To reach her goals, Vergeire said that the DOH must chart the course for its healthcare and hospital facilities, so that patients can easily find the care they need.
She also stressed the need for financial protection.
“We need to have this financial protection dahil hindi pa rin pupunta mga tao sa’tin kung wala silang pambayad ng serbisyo, kung wala sila pambili ng gamot,” said Vergeire.
(We need to have this financial protection because people still won’t come to us if they can’t pay for the service, if they can’t buy medicine.)
She explained that the department is now already working on this with the “outpatient drug benefit package” provided by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), where patients who go to primary care centers are sent to PhilHeath accredited pharmacies where they could get their medicines for free.
Vergeire also said she plans to focus further on having more specialty care centers, “aligning with the President’s directions.
“We’d like to expand these kinds of facilities para lahat ng Pilipino nakakabenepisyo [so that all Filipinos could benefit],” she said.
No talks with Marcos yet
Meanwhile, Vergeire said that she has yet to meet with Marcos to discuss the appointment for Health Secretary.
She emphasized that the Department wants to give Marcos time to make a decision, rather than put the Office of the President in an awkward position.
“So we just wait and we do not like to preempt the decision of the President, let’s just wait for his decision,” said Vergeire.
No health chief has been appointed by Marcos since the start of his administration, previously maintaining that he only plans to appoint a health secretary once the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines normalizes.
RELATED STORIES:
Vergeire says she is now ready to become Health Secretary
Gov’t told: Permanent DOH chief needed now, not later
Not picking a DOH chief shows Marcos not prioritizing health – solon