SENATORS took up the cudgels on Monday for 15,000 health workers about to be rendered jobless after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) cut P36 billion in the Department of Health’s (DOH) 2019 budget.
The budget’s reduction, from P107 billion down to P71 billion, affects DOH field workers with funding for health human-resources deployment slashed from P9.59 billion in 2018 to P1.17 billion next year.
Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon warned, “15,000 nurses and health professionals will be on the streets while we are evaluating,” when senators were informed by DBM Director Jane V. Abella at a hearing that the fund was transferred to the Miscellaneous and Personnel Benefit Fund (MPBF) pending review by the DBM and the Commission on Civil Service.
“Can you imagine the effect of this on our 15,000 health workers and their performance? What kind of planning is this?” asked Drilon.
The Senate Minority Leader asserted it was “not correct to transfer the funds of active government health personnel to MPBF,” voicing fears the fund will not be released “without Malacañang’s clearance.”
Drilon added: “If we will just follow the proposed budget of the Department of Health, about 15,000 nurses and health professionals will lose their jobs.”
After grilling DBM officials during the Senate hearing on the proposed P71-billion budget of the DoH, Drilon declared, “This is a very serious concern.”
“I have not seen in my 20 years in the Senate that a budget is slashed this much, and the budget of the DoH at that,” said Drilon. “This is injustice and I will not allow the budget to be passed unless this injustice is addressed.”
Taking the floor at Monday’s plenary session, Sen. Grace Poe also tackled the DOH budget cut, citing dire implications on effective delivery of government’s health services, “particularly for mother and infant nutrition.”
Poe conceded it could be an uphill battle to restore the cuts, but urged the Senate to ensure the DOH fund is kept intact in the 2019 budget.
At the same time, Sen. Risa Hontiveros also committed to back efforts to “fully restore massive cuts” in the DOH budget.
“This is a massive setback in our goal to provide our people universal health care,” the senator said, lamenting that “a significantly lower budget for DOH’s Human Resources Development program would mean less doctors, nurses, dentists and midwives to be deployed in rural areas and poor communities.”
Hontiveros warned that “less health workers means less health services,” adding that “less health services means less opportunities for Filipinos to lead healthy lives.”