Bongbong Marcos wants UHC implementation ‘given priority’ — Ejercito

Senator-elect JV Ejercito answers questions from the media in the Senate on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Senate PRIB photo / Voltaire F. Domingo

MANILA, Philippines — President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wants the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act to be “given priority,” said Senator-elect JV Ejercito, the principal author of the measure.

“In my talk with President BBM (Bongbong Marcos), he really wants it to be implemented and be given priority,” Ejercito told reporters in an interview on Tuesday.

Ejercito said this conversation took place two to three weeks after the May 9 elections, when he and other lawmakers visited Marcos.

“Of course, his priorities will be how to reconstruct and rebuild the economy after the pandemic. Second, yung [is] food security and then when we got to talk, ‘yun yung magandang balita na [that’s the good news], he would like to prioritize yung Universal Health Care implementation,” the senator said.

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The UHC law, which seeks to give all Filipinos health care coverage and benefits, was enacted into law in February 2019.

Under the law, Filipinos will be automatically enrolled in the proposed National Health Insurance Program as direct or indirect contributors.

JPV/abc