The House of Representatives deferred plenary deliberations of the DOH 2021 budget after Iloilo Representative Janette Garin requested copies of documents related to the alleged anomalous transactions of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“It’s highly unusual to discuss the budget of the DOH considering that the PhilHealth documents are still in the pipeline. . . .We are willing to wait, and we will discuss the budget thoroughly once the documents are submitted to us,” Garin, former Department of Health Secretary said.
The proposed 2021 national budget allocates P71 billion for PhilHealth’s coverage of Filipinos, especially senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and needy patients.
Meanwhile, the DOH will get P127.28 billion, a budget that Senator Risa Hontiveros called “anemic” as the agency falls behind the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of the Interior and Local Government and other two agencies.
Senator Franklin Drilon also questioned the DOH 2021 budget, saying “something wrong” in it.
Also read: Senators to check if additional 4Ps budget needed for 2021
Hearing on DOH 2021 budget delayed over PhilHealth anomalies
“We need to improve our testing, we need to improve our contact tracing, and our ability to treat,” Drilon added.
The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) earlier said the P127.28 billion DOH 2021 budget is only 2.82 percent of the 2021 national budget plan and only 0.6 percent of gross domestic product.
The group added the budget, though P27 billion higher than in 2019, does not reflect on how the DOH could prioritize health-related programs and solve the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
AHW also said the budget is not enough to stop the spread of the coronavirus and would not meet the needs of the Filipinos affected by the global crisis.
The government also reduced the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) for public hospitals and did not include a capital outlay for free health services, the group said.
“Worst of all, PhilHealth (the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.), which is plagued by corruption, has been given huge funds that will continue to be milked by corrupt government officials. The P71.3 billion DOH subsidy to PhilHealth should be realigned to the 66 DOH hospitals across the country for free and direct health services to patients,” it said.