Angara seeks completion of Brgy Health Station Project to ensure delivery of 'TSeKap' benefits to poor

Senator Sonny Angara said the government should make sure that the construction of Barangay Health Stations (BHS) in every barangay in the country will be completed at the soonest possible time.

Despite the reported irregularities surrounding the P8.1-billion BHS Project of the Department of Health (DOH), which the Senate is investigating today, Angara said the BHS project "remains a noble initiative that must be continued."

Angara said the completion of the project will ensure the delivery of PhilHealth's primary care package to the poor and vulnerable sector.

"Dapat ay ipagpatuloy pa rin ng DOH ang pagpapatayo ng mga barangay health station. Proper guidelines must be followed to ensure fast delivery of services. Dapat ay siguruhing maayos ang mga site bago mag-grant ng mga kontrata," Angara said, who joined the call of other senators to include the project under the General Appropriations Act so it can be scrutinized by Congress.

In 2015, the DOH entered into a P8.1-billion contract for the construction of 5,700 barangay health stations in public elementary schools in barangays without existing health stations. The projected was divided into two phases: construction of 3,200 BHS in Phase 1, and 2,500 BHS in Phase 2.

However, the Commission on Audit in its 2017 Performance Audit Report had observed the following issues and irregularities in the BHS project: 1) the list of project sites for the construction of BHS included barangays with existing BHS; 2) identified school sites have no available space/lot for the construction of BHS; and 3) project sites have no existing schools; among others.

During today's Senate probe into the issue, the DOH revealed that only 218 of the 3,200 target barangay health stations under Phase 1 had been constructed and validated with proper documents. The project was supposed to be completed in 2016.

Aside from the delayed construction of the BHS, the non-completion of the said project adversely affected the distribution of 5,000 TSeKap packages amounting to P175 million.

The primary care package called Tamang Serbisyo sa Kalusugan ng Pamilya or "TSeKap" covers essential health services including physical and diagnostic examinations, medical consultation, and medicines.

Currently, such program is only available to indigents and sponsored members. Angara has been leading the call in the Senate to expand the primary care benefit package to cover all Filipinos.

"Ang sabi sa amin ng PhilHealth, mababa raw ang utilization rate ng TSeKap package. Kaya naman pala kaunti lang ang nakikinabang dito dahil hindi naipapatayo ang mga kailangang barangay health station at rural health unit na dapat sana'y nagbibigay ng serbisyo para sa mga mahihirap na nasa malalayong barangay," Angara said.

"Bilyun-bilyong piso ang pinag-uusapan natin dito. Every peso misspent is a peso taken away from poor and vulnerable Filipino families who need it the most. Hindi natin papayagang mabahiran ng katiwalian ang mga proyekto na ang layunin ay gawing abot-kaya ang pagpapagamot para sa bawat Pilipino," he added.