Vergeire: Health workers’ benefits to suffer most from DOH budget cuts | Inquirer News

Vergeire: Health workers’ benefits to suffer most from DOH budget cuts

By: - Reporter / @BPinlacINQ
/ 01:14 PM September 07, 2022

DOH officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire says the Cebu City government never consulted them about its plan to make the wearing of face masks "nonobligatory."

DOH officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) is asking for more funding for healthcare workers’ benefits and allowances next year, citing it as the most affected program in its proposed budget for 2023.

DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire on Wednesday lamented the meager funds allocated to keep healthcare workers’ benefits up until next year.

Article continues after this advertisement

Vergeire made the remark after Quezon Rep. Keith Micah Tan asked which DOH projects would be most affected by the cuts in its budget proposal.

FEATURED STORIES

READ: P296.3-B health budget for 2023: Higher but still ‘not enough’

“Meron po kaming listahan ng mga programa na nagkaroon po ng kakulangan dito po sa 2023 budget (We have a list of programs that received lacking funds in the 2023 budget). But primarily, what we are appealing to our committee on health and the members of the House of Representatives would be our insufficient budget that was provided for the healthcare workers’ benefits,” she said at the House of Representatives health committee meeting.

Article continues after this advertisement

Vergeire later stressed: “Ito po iyong pinakamalaki na hindi po naibigay sa atin.”

Article continues after this advertisement

(This is the biggest slice of the budget denied to us.)

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Health workers hit DOH over benefits

Additionally, Vergeire appealed to the House panel to restore the DOH budget for the cancer assistance fund. However, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) removed the fund completely from DOH’s proposed budget for 2023, according to her.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Previously, we had a line item for the cancer assistance fund at P500 million. We are just set to implement this and now, it was removed from the line item. So we, therefore, appeal to our House of Representative members, the committee on health, if this can be returned because this is part of the law,” the DOH official added.

Vergeire also pointed out another shortfall in the budget allocated for the Epidemiology and Surveillance Program of the DOH.

“These would be the important things that we are requesting from the good congressmen and women here, especially for our healthcare workers’ budget, which totals to around P76 billion for the year 2023 requirement. And also we have arrears of a total of P64 billion, and this is the money that we need so we can fulfill our commitment to our healthcare workers,” she further explained.

With a budget of P296.3 billion, the country’s health sector is third among the sectors that received the highest funds in the 2023 budget proposal of the DBM. However, it lags behind the education sector, which was given P852.8 billion, and the infrastructure sector, with P718.4 billion.

READ: Lawmaker: Marcos admin’s proposed 2023 budget shows misplaced priorities

The DBM earlier stressed that the proposed DOH budget is 10.4 percent higher than for 2022  – P29 billion of this was earmarked for the procurement of medicines and vaccines, while P19 billion will be used for the salary and benefits of healthcare workers.

RELATED STORIES:

Nurses’ exodus: Choice obvious between better future abroad, shabby treatment at home

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

UP system faces P2.5-B cut in proposed 2023 budget; P893-M slashed from PGH

/MUF/abc
TAGS: 2023 budget, benefits, DoH

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.