Proposed 2013 DOH Budget is an Attack Against Filipinos’ Right to Health

“People suffer and even die from the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus in San Ramon in Albay , Bicol region as a result of very poor primary health care services where doctors are absent. This situation shows just the tip of the iceberg as far as the national health system is concerned, where people from remote areas die from the most curable conditions like diarrhea,” said GWP Rep. Emmi De Jesus alarmed at the spread of the disease in San Ramon, Albay.

“Kahit hindi nakakamatay ang sakit, nakakaalarma ang mabilis na pagkalat ng sakit na ito, at ang hirap na nararansan ng mga taong nagkasakit nito, at ni hindi nila alam na chikungunya ang virus sa katawan nila dahil walang doktor na magsasabi sa kanila,” the Gabriela solon added.

“The P56.8 billion ($1.35 billion) proposed 2013 DOH budget dismally falls short of the World Health Organization’s recommended budgetary allocation of 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for public health. It represents a measly 1.89 percent of the GDP registered by the National Economic Development Agency for the third quarter of 2011.

The Aquino administration’s intention to spend no more than P0.62 ($0.014) per Filipino in 2013 is an attack against the Filipino’s right to health. The continuing institutionalization of the abandonment of healthcare worsens the already tragic condition of the poor,” De Jesus stressed.

De Jesus stressed that in the midst of joblessness, landlessness and poverty, the 2013 heath budget must allocate a bigger share for the upgrading of public health care facilities and equipment and ensure the availability of medicines, health workers and doctors in a well-equipped health centers, especially in remotest areas, to provide immediate service to more than 50 million Filipinos in need of free, basic and accessible health services.