The bicameral conference allocated a zero budget to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) for 2025. This was swiftly condemned by more than a hundred CSOs, NGOs, Partylists, and individuals.
In their “Statement on the Zero Budget for PhilHealth in 2025 GAA,” they stressed that “The bicameral conference members who defunded PhilHealth are willfully ignorant of the Sin Tax Reform Law and the Universal Healthcare (UHC) Act... Moreover, the zero budget strips the premiums of tens of millions of PhilHealth’s indirect contributors – the poor, the senior citizens, and persons with disabilities – and thus makes the direct contributors, many of whom are from the working class, bear the sole burden of funding PhilHealth.”
Unconstitutional
What are these representatives of the people thinking in cutting off much-needed funds to “uphold the people’s constitutional right to health”?
Aren’t these lawmakers making regular rounds at ground level of their respective jurisdictional districts, to get the real profile of sicknesses and diseases plaguing their constituents?
Or they simply do not see, or do not care about the importance of implementing “the state’s obligation to protect and promote Filipinos’ right to health by taking steps to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the Universal Healthcare Act (UHC)”?
What are they in power for? To sit comfortably in their chairs and leave the discussions and decision-making to the loud-mouth lawmakers? And, in their minds, just wait for reactions from the public to find out how their colleagues will respond to keep their "integrity" intact as the "honorable gentlemen" of Congress?
People Wondering
The Filipino people are especially concerned about the inefficient and corrupt-laden health system managed by the current administration of the dynastic leadership of President Bongbong Marcos and her VP Sara Duterte.
The people wonder if this tandem leadership deliberately neglects its task as a leader because this duo is aware of its fraudulent win in the May 9, 2022 elections as rigged by Comelec with Smartmatic. This was scientifically analyzed by, among other IT experts, the highly credible TNT’s former DICT secretary Ret. Gen. Eli Rio, former Namfrel Chair Gus Lagman and former banker FINEX president Franklyn Ysaac.
More so are the people disappointed that majority of their representatives in the Senate and House of Representatives somehow blindly or deliberately neglect the voice of their respective constituents.
Sadly, how will the millions of poor Filipinos suffering with various forms of illnesses cope with their health conditions with an under-funded PhilHealth?
Programs for the People
The Filipino people are still hoping, especially this Christmas season of gift-giving and genuine cheerful loving, that their representatives simply DO their job of seriously improving the healthcare system of the country.
They should work to substantially reduce the number of sick people, and concentrate on keeping every Filipino healthy in 2025.
PhilHealth’s budget should be sufficient enough and maximized to creatively improve its programs for the people, as often as necessary!
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