A militant lawmaker on Monday scored Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial over budget cuts to 49 public hospitals in the proposed 2018 budget of the Department of Health (DOH).

During the House of Representatives’ deliberations on the DOH’s proposed P164.86 billion budget, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said P1.488 billion was cut, affecting the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) of 49 state hospitals.

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“It was the President’s directive to ‘take care of the poor’ and Secretary Ubial had said that the DOH will epitomize the president’s tagline of ‘malasakit.’ He had been critical of people lining up outside hospitals, camping at the gates of hospitals even before the day breaks, just to get medical attention. The cutback of P1.488 billion on public hospital’s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) runs against this directive,” Zarate said.

Zarate noted that the following hospitals suffered the biggest cuts:

Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, P144.741 million or a 56.63% cut in the budget from 2017

Bicol Sanitarium, P24.024 million. A cutback of 57.41%

Amai Pakpak Medical Center (in Marawi), P33.315 million or a cutback of 51.76%

Davao Regional Hospital, P55.120 million or 54.64% cut

Southern Philippines Medical Center, P270.823 million or 71.90% cut

During the hearing, Ubial said the hospitals suffered cuts due to budget underutilization in previous years.

She said it was beyond the control of the DOH because it was the Department of Budget and Management that approved the department’s National Expenditure Program.

“Unfortunately, it’s beyond the control of the DOH. We actually proposed the same budget for 2016 in the 2018 budget for MOOE,” Ubial said.

Zarate rejected this justification, citing the need to give higher budgets to hospitals which have been suffering deficits in past years.

“Hindi rin uubra ang palusot ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) na under utilization dahil we have received reports from some hospitals in need of higher hospital budgets,” Zarate said in a statement.

“These hospitals cater to the poorest patients in the regions and provinces. Kung talagang may malasakit ang adminsitrasyon, and the DOH is implementing this call, ‘di na dapat natin hayaang animo namamalimos ang ating public hospitals for adequate budget. Sa halip na kaltasan, dapat pa nga itaas ang budget, lalo na ang MOOE ng public hospitals,” he added.

The DOH and its attached agencies have a proposed budget of P164.86 billion in 2018, up from its approved P151.33 billion budget in 2017. This includes the DOH budget for the Philhealth at P57.13 billion in the proposed 2018 budget. CBB

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