House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez —House of Representatives photo
MANILA, Philippines – A party list associated with Speaker Martin Romualdez continued to defend its involvement in a rural health development project with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Philippine Health Corp., amid criticisms that it bypassed more suitable agencies, like the Department of Health (DOH).
In a statement, Rep. Jude Acidre clarified that Tingog’s participation is merely to provide fiscal training, capacity building and assistance for beneficiaries of its Maalagang Republika Rural Financing Health Development Program.
He also made it clear that the program was not a Tingog-led project, and that the party list would not be handling funds nor would it have a hand in selecting the beneficiaries.
READ: Dela Rosa questions PhilHealth-DBP-Tingog agreement
The project, launched early this month, hopes to address longstanding gaps in health-care infrastructure in rural areas.
Under the agreement, the DBP would provide local governments access to its hospital loan program, while PhilHealth will ensure the time reimbursements to these hospitals.
READ: Acidre fears dela Rosa’s Tingog critique meant to bury EJK issue
Tingog’s role, Acidre said, was merely to assist local governments in navigating the program through advocacy, capacity-building and support. The loan agreements, he said, would strictly be between the local governments and the DBP following stringent banking policies.
Tingog’s other representative, Yedda Romualdez, is the wife of the speaker.
Meanwhile, Acidre also dismissed the claim of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa that the program bypassed agencies, like the DOH.
“Tingog party list’s participation in this initiative is rooted in its mission to improve access to health care, especially in underserved and rural communities. This initiative is not about power or control, but about facilitating solutions for local governments to enhance public health-care services,” Acidre added.
Acidre claimed that Dela Rosa was just trying to divert public attention from the House investigation of extrajudicial killings during his time as Philippine National Police chief under the Duterte administration.
“Could this be an attempt to deflect attention from the House investigation into extrajudicial killings? His sudden concern for governance and ethics appears more like a smokescreen than a genuine critique,” Acidre said.