Robredo says pandemic exposed ills on Philippine’s healthcare system

Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday stressed that the entire healthcare system in the country should be mended as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the lives of Filipinos, noting that the main concern still lies in its accessibility and affordability especially for the less privileged.

“Parang ‘yung pandemic exposed the systemic ills in our healthcare system. Masyado tayong naging complacent in the past na nung nagkaroon ng pandemic, do’n tayo talaga, ‘yung lahat ng pagpapabaya natin over the years nararamdaman natin ngayon,” Robredo said during an interview with One News.

(The pandemic sort of exposed the systemic ills in our healthcare system. We became too complacent in the past that when the pandemic came, we now experience all the negligence we did in the past years.)

Robredo, who is running for president in Eleksyon 2022, said the operationalization of the Philippines’ universal health care (UHC) program should be accelerated and the budget for health should be increased.

She added that the structure in giving proper salaries and benefits to the healthcare workers should be fixed to encourage them to stay and work in the country instead.

Hospitals with complete facilities and personnel must also be established in every region to make it more accessible for people in provinces.

This issue was covered when President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the UHC Act in February 2019 that guarantees all Filipinos equal access to quality and affordable goods and services in healthcare.

It has a funding requirement of P257 billion, but was given an appropriations of only P217 billion under the proposed 2019 national budget.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III then said that the funding gap of P40 billion would mean not all hospitals or health centers as envisioned under the law would be constructed.

Government debt

While Robredo emphasized that there is nothing wrong with asking for loans especially during a time of pandemic, she said the government should be wary where these loans are spent.

“Ang kailangan natin gawin is i-assess saan ba natin ginamit ‘yung utang, sisiguraduhin natin na walang leak sa korupsyon, sisiguraduhin natin na kaya natin ito inutang kasi ‘yung returns na inaasahan natin ay mas malaki,” she said.

(What we need to do is assess where we used the loans, ensure that it has no leaks to corruption, and ensure that we asked for these loans because we are expecting a higher return.)

On December 29, the Bureau of the Treasury’s data showed that the national government’s outstanding debt reached P11.93 trillion, down by 0.3% from P11.97 trillion as of end-October 2021.

Robredo said that this could be paid if the country could bring back the gross domestic product (GDP) levels before the pandemic and this could be possible if the economy is revived.

To do so, the government should first identify which departments have underspending and transfer the funding to those that have high absorptive capacity.

Second, she said that the pandemic should already be controlled to stabilize the economy. This should then be anchored on restoring the public’s trust in the government and the strengthening of institutions.

“When we are able to restore our trust in government and strengthen our institutions, ito ‘yung (this is the) assurance that the Filipino people can count on their government to provide efficient and quality service,” she stressed, saying that with this, the investors would also trust the government.

Women and media

Further, Robredo emphasized that economic empowerment and opportunities should also be provided to women through programs that would upskill them and give them access to markets.

“Hindi kinakailangan na lahat ng babae nagtatrabaho pero dapat lahat ng babae nabibigyan ng opportunity to earn,” she said.

(Not all women need to work but all of them should be given opportunities to earn.)

She added that there should also be a relationship of trust and respect between the government officials and the media who call them out if there are wrongdoings.

“Ang inaasahan kong role ng media is i-appreciate kami when we are doing good pero i-criticize kami kung nakikita nila na mali na ‘yung ginagawa namin kasi nakakatulong ‘yun sa pagiging mabuti naming public servants,” she said.

(What I expect the role of the media to be is to appreciate us when we are doing good but to criticize us if they see that what we are doing is already wrong because it helps us to be good public servants.)

On Tuesday, Robredo called out “fake news” peddlers who claimed that the Bayanihan E-Konsulta, a telemedicine platform, is being used to ask a precinct number of those who avail of the services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

She then assured the public that the Bayanihan E-Konsulta services are not being used for election purposes, noting that it is "unforgivable" that such information is being circulated amid the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases. — RSJ, GMA News