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MANILA, Philippines – Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday pointed to P2.04 billion budget cuts in the operations of more than 30 public hospitals as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Hontiveros noted that the allocation for the 33 hospitals is crucial for government hospitals to cover the costs of regular operations, including utilities, drugs, diagnostic procedures, intravenous fluids and other essential expenses for patient care.
“Billions of cuts in the midst of a pandemic mean that we dramatically cut the ability of government hospitals to provide services and medicines for free,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
Because of this, people’s out-of-pocket expenses will increase (Because of this, the public’s out-of-pocket expenses will increase). This is tremendously against the poor and against the people ”, he added.
The senator regretted that the lower funding for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) of the hospitals will cause their income, which could have been used for the acquisition of more hospital beds and equipment, now be diverted to offset the budget. cuts.
Hontiveros said that the top three hospitals that saw the biggest budget cuts were the top COVID-19 referral centers in cities that have the highest number of cases in their respective regions.
These are the Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) in Quezon City, which suffered a funding cut of P305.48 million, the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao with a budget reduction of P305.48 million and the Corazón Locsin Montelibano Memorial Hospital in Bacolod City. which was also denied P242.19 million.
The QMMC, Hontiveros said, is currently in ‘warning level’ status with a 67.2 percent bed occupancy, while the Southern Philippines Medical Center is currently at full capacity for COVID-19 patients, and is 97 percent full of general room occupancy.
“Most of these hospitals are in emerging, if not current, hotspot areas. Shouldn’t common sense tell us that when the threat increases, we provide reinforcement? We do not know when this pandemic will end, so our hospitals must always be prepared to face the influx of patients, “he said.
“Sa pinakamalalang health Emergency na ito (In this health emergency), we have no choice but to give these hospitals what they need. The consequences could be fatal. Many could die because care was denied when they needed it most. This can be prevented if we channel funds wisely, ”he said.
Hontiveros also pointed out that the budget for the Prevention and Control of Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases was also rejected by the “massive” P10 billion.
“We don’t have the funds for prevention, even the budget for treatment,” Hontiveros said.
As of October 21, there are 362,243 cases of COVID-19 in the country, with recoveries at 311,506 and the death toll at 6,747.
/ MUF
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