WITH the pandemic’s attack on the nation still without letup, and while all indicators point to an even longer period of battling COVID-19, the Department of Budget and Management has reduced the Department of Health’s proposed budget by 73 percent.
In a hearing of the House of Representatives last week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III disclosed that the DOH proposed a P73.99-billion budget next year for its continuing response to COVID-19. This original proposal would have included hazard pay, meals, accommodation and transportation allowances, and life insurance for healthcare workers.
Despite this, however, DBM slashed the amount by 73 percent to just P19.68 billion. This clearly means there will be no funding for these benefits in the National Expenditure Program.
‘It is a must to follow up how this DOH budget issue will unravel because in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, health should share with education and national defense in the list of priorities.’
Why would the DBM — and President Duterte since he was the one who submitted the budget to Congress — do this when they know that the nation is in the midst of a prolonged struggle against the coronavirus and that Filipinos continue to die of COVID-19? Even the DOH is of the opinion that the pandemic might last for one to two more years, based on projections made by the World Health Organization and other experts.
When asked, Health Secretary Duque replied that the DBM may have presumed that the country will reach herd immunity soon, and thus would need a smaller health budget. But he admitted to the legislators that the amount given was lacking.
Another reason given to the health secretary is that the special risk allowance for health workers is incorporated in the P401-billion Bayanihan 3, a measure that has yet to become a law and whose funding is uncertain.
The secretary expressed the hope that once we reach herd immunity and vaccinate at least 77 million of our people, the health situation will be better because of the protection that the vaccines can give.
Upon encouragement of the lawmakers, Duque will submit to the House of Representatives their original budget proposal so that Congress may be able to adjust the figure to a more realistic level.
It is a must to follow up how this DOH budget issue will unravel because in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, health should share with education and national defense in the list of priorities.
