Newly-proclaimed Senator Rafael Tulfo has lined up numerous programs that will be incorporated in bills he would file for the sake of children, those with special needs, PWDS and healthcare frontliners.
Newly-proclaimed Senator Rafael Tulfo vowed to push for bills that would allocate 5 percent annual share in the national LGU budgets for lifelong care of children and adults with special needs and PWDs.
Completely free special education and therapy, garantisadong budget, at maayos na mekanismo sa paghahatid ng medical and socioeconomic sa mga may kapansanan, Tulfo said in a press statement.
For all Filipinos with disabilities, special needs, continuing care, and mental health conditions, I will push for lifelong care from the time of their illness’ detection to their elderly years. The landmark legislation I am preparing now seeks to significantly improve upon the present support system for the individuals and families in need, he said.
Our bill or sets of bills will present an integrated approach. Instead of having separate discordant systems for PWDs, seniors, persons with comorbidities, and mental health conditions, I will push for integrated, interdisciplinary care and research, so the country can maximize its limited resources through value for investment care, but delivered primarily at the local government level so the services are readily accessible. The current care systems will be subsystems of the integrated.
This approach will not just be on paper but also through the national and LGU budgets. I will propose a 5 percent fixed allocation in the annual appropriations of the national and LGUs for health and support care of PWDs, and kids and adults with special needs.
I will make sure the national budgets and IRA will have substantial allocations for kids and adults with special needs and the PWDs–starting with the 2023 GAA.
Through laws and these budgets, we can have free wheelchairs, completely free Special education (SPED), amply-subsidized PhilHealth coverage for emergency and long-term care, including therapy for children and adults with special needs, comorbidities, and mental health conditions.
I am open to more ideas and suggestions from doctors, nurses, physical therapists, SPED teachers, and civil society organizations with focus on children and adults with special needs, seniors, PWDs, and persons with comorbidities. They are the experts so I will listen to them.
School clincs, health center for frontline care
I will also push for better equipped and professionally-manned school clinics and “super” barangay health centers.
At the national level, we can have a National Center for PWD Medical Care and Research and a National Database of Households that includes a subsector for PWDs and persons needing lifelong special care. The national center will closely network with the city-based and town-based institutes.
The institutes will work with the barangays, barangay health centers, and barangay health care workers for a detailed house-to-house inventory of all PWDs, persons with mental health conditions, and others with special care needs. No one should be left behind or hidden at home. We will integrate them with the rest of their neighbors.
This inventory is necessary so we can enroll all of them into the subsidized universal health care of PhilHealth and will have them assisted by the Malasakit Centers nearest or easily reached from their residence. We must know who our clientele are and where they are so we can have better service delivery for them.
The national center and the LGU institutes will have new plantilla positions of healthcare professionals, trained caregivers, technicians, and support staff.
Key lateral health matters
I will have a separate bill to correct the situation of low salaries, benefits and compensation distortions across salary grades. This way, we can keep many of our health professionals and caregivers here in the country where our people need them.
To help fund all these, we can have targeted health-focused taxes to promote low salt, low fat, low sugar foods and beverages. The country’s sin taxes are focused only on cigarettes, sweetened and alcoholic drinks, but neglects to cover processed foods and drinks with high sodium and high fat content. This national tax shall NOT cover dried fish and dried meats.
We can have the LGUs mandated to diversify the availability of local food sources so that locally-produced salty foods will not be the default foods of the poor. Supply-side solutions are a key way to improve the health of Filipinos at the barangay level. We should have more community gardens where the poor can grow their own food.
Fix Philhealth
We must fix PhilHealth. There are just too many anomalies and embedded corruption in its system. In addition to the conduct of COA regular and special audits, we will also push for forensic third-party audits by our country’s leading audit firms.
Aside from COA, we should have citizen-empowered audit teams assigned to every PhilHealth field office and a special assistant Ombudsman for PhilHealth and other GOCCs.
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