SC urged to stop privatization of Philippine Orthopedic Center

The Supreme Court building in Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–A petition was filed with the Supreme Court  Monday to stop the government from pushing through with the privatization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC).

In a petition filed by party-list group, health workers and several patients, they said the privatization violates the constitutionally guaranteed rights to health care and equitable access to health services.

“The bleeding and injured destitute patients in representation of themselves and in representation of all others to be similarly situated come now to the Court because they are being rushed to the emergency or operating room for profit by those who should be taking care of themselves in the first place. They will be bled dry for commercial fees due to privatized health care service by forces preying on their miserable conditions, ” said Atty. Edre U. Olalia, secretary-general and head of the legal team from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).

The “Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center” project is under the Public-Private Partnership scheme of the Aquino administration – the first government hospital to be privatized. The project costing P5.6 Billion was awarded to Megawide Construction Corp. and World Citi Consortium.

The petitioners said the State’s responsibility to provide and ensure a basic social service “should not be relinquished to a private entity through privatization or commercialization of a government hospital to the prejudice of the poor and underprivileged.”

“We have the power to choose for ourselves, and more than merely being charitable, to be civilized and just, especially for the poor and underprivileged,” Olalia said.

The POC is a DOH-retained hospital. It is the country‘s only hospital specializing in orthopedic disorders including cases of spinal cord injuries. It is being privatized as part of President Aquino’s Private Public Partnership (PPP) project of funding even social services.

Under the winning bid,  the “modernized” POC is allowed to allocate only 70 beds for service (indigent) patients and 420 for sponsored (Philheath) patients – compared to the current 562 beds or 85 percent capacity for indigent patients. The new management would have an option not to accommodate non-paying patients if the 70 beds are already occupied.

POC employees also face the possibility of losing their jobs. The contract makes the workforce private, such that those who wish to remain in government service have to transfer to another DOH hospital. Those who choose to stay at POC are not assured that they will be absorbed.

Petitioners included doctors and nurses from the Network Opposed to Privatization of Public Hospitals and Health Services (NOP), Council for Health and Development (CHD), Nars ng Bayan Community Health Nurses’ Association, Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), Health Alliance for Human Rights (HAHR), People’s Health Movement, Community Medicine  Practitioners and Advocates Association (COMPASS); Head Alliance for Democracy (HEAD), leaders of citizens’ groups Makabayan, Gabriela, Kalipunan ng Damayan ng Mahihirap (KADAMAY), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), and congressmen from Bayan Muna and Kabataan party-list.