SEN. GUINGONA BATS TO FAST-TRACK GOVT HEALTH INFRA PROGRAM
CONSTRUCTION & REHAB OF GOV'T HEALTH UNITS WILL BENEFIT THE POOR

Senator Teofisto "TG" Guingona III is pushing for the swift implementation of the government's health infrastructure program funded by the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2014 to service the majority of Filipinos.

Sen. Guingona, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, asked Health Secretary Enrique Ona during Monday's senate hearing of the 2015 Department of Health (DOH) budget, to explain the slow implementation of its Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) for this year, and identify the bottlenecks in the completion of the projects.

During the hearing, Sen. Guingona directed Sec. Ona to identify and document the causes of the delay in HFEP implementation so that they can be addressed. The senator also revealed plans to undertake regional public consultations on the issue of HFEP.

Since 2010, the government has been investing in the provision of health infrastructure nationwide through the HFEP. As Chair of the Committee on Health and Demography in the senate, Sen. Guingona approved the largest increase in HFEP, from its amount of P8.1 billion in 2013 to P13.54 billion in 2014. As of September 15, 2014, of the 991 Barangay Health Stations (BHS), only 2 percent has been completed. Records from DOH revealed that as of August 30, 2014, only 56 percent of the 2,917 health facilities approved for funding in the 2014 GAA has moved. Meanwhile, for Rural Health Stations (RHU), only 45 percent of the allocated amount of P1.76 billion has been utilized. Finally for hospitals, only 22 percent of the allocated amount of P2.34 billion has been utilized.

Sen. Guingona stressed that while the health facilities are expected to provide simple medical and emergency care within the community, including maternal and child health services, the construction/improvement and equipping of BHS is vital for delivery of front line health services as well as for declogging of tertiary health care facilities which are usually saddled with patients needing even simple medical services.

He added that the Aquino administration is bent in providing Filipinos access to accessible and sufficient healthcare. It can only be achieved if the infrastructure and equipment needed for healthcare programs are delivered on time.

"The infusion of P37 billion for the payment of Philhealth premiums of the indigent in the 2015 proposed budget should be complemented by the improvement of public health facilities to achieve the goal of enhanced service delivery, and better quality of health for the Filipinos, especially of the poor.

For the 2015 proposed budget, the DOH is asking for P13.08 billion for its HFEP program where it seeks to provide for the construction, upgrading, expansion, repair and rehabilitation and purchase of hospital equipment of DOH retained hospitals and other health care facilities, such as the Rural Health Units (RHUs), district/provincial hospitals and barangay health stations.