2019 budget pro-health- JV
SEN. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Saturday described the P3.757-trillion 2019 budget as “pro-health” because the P16.8 billion budget for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) was restored.
The fund was earlier slashed from the proposed appropriation for the Department of Health (DoH) for this year.
“I’m happy for our people because of the return of the HFEP and HRHD funds. The more than P16-billion HFEP budget will be used for the improvement, upgrade, and expansion of government hospitals and health facilities, some are nearing completion already, and for their equipment. Another P7 billion for Human Resource for Health Development para‘ yun sa suweldo (for the salaries) and augmentation of health workers, nurses, midwives and doctors,” said Ejercito, chairman of the Senate health and demography committee.
He said the health facilities would ensure the smooth implementation of the government’s universal health care program. It would also bring down to an affordable level expenses on health services, including but not limited to check-ups and selected laboratory procedures.
The HFEP and the HRHD programs aim to ensure the wide delivery of quality, affordable and accessible health services to Filipinos.
Ejercito clarified that the budget approved for HFEP is not “pork,” saying it was a legal institutional insertion.
Earlier, Ejercito described the zero-budget for HFEP for 2019 as anti-poor and a great disservice to the Filipino people.
“Why should we penalize the people? Kungmay
pagkukulang man sa implementation, kungmabagal ang absorptive capacity (ng DoH), hindinamandapat
taumbayanangmag- suffer ( If there were lapses in its implementation, if the absorptive capacity of the DoH is slow, the people should not suffer),” he said.
The senator also expressed fear that the implementation of the Universal Health Care measure, which he authored and sponsored and is now pending the signature of President Duterte for it to become a law, would be derailed if the HFEP would be not implemented.
Meanwhile, Ejercito appealed to parents to have their children vaccinated against measles.
He said the Dengvaxia issue might have caused confusion and even fear among people from patronizing other proven vaccines that could prevent children from getting contagious diseases.