House Bill 6069 at Senate Bill 3130

House Bill No. 6069 pertains to, “AN ACT CONVERTING GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS INTO NATIONAL GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL CORPORATIONS PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFORE, and AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”; while Senate Bill 3130 pertains to, “AN ACT INSTITUTING A CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”

• That the said Bills include among others the corporatization of the 26 retained DOH Hospitals and Medical Centers including the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center;

• That the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center is the only tertiary hospital serving the constituents of two administrative regions of  Region XII and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the City of Cotabato;

• That, Region XII and ARMM are regions where majority of the people are marginalized, and displaced by the continuing armed conflict. The maternal and infant morbidity and mortality are its highest due to poverty and inadequate health care delivery. Cotabato Regional and Medical Center is the only tertiary hospital that serves the poor;

• That, corporatization or privatization of Cotabato Regional and Medical Center, would mean that the government discharge its responsibility of providing health to all and deprive the people of its constitutional right to health care;
• That, depriving the people of Region XII and ARMM of tertiary health services because of high cost is a neglect of the government and would worsen the poor condition of the people;
• That, corporatization of the hospital is a step towards privatization or even a form of privatization. Privatization would mean that the ownership in control public functions is transferred in a whole or in part to a private operator. The primary objective is profit for the owner, among other things and this necessitates an avoidance of customers who cannot pay to maximize between revenues and costs;

• That, engaging in so called Public Private Partnership as the main engine for growth and development denies the poor of their rights to health and financial freedom. It further deprives the employees of the government of their security of tenure and a threat to their employment;
• That, House Bill 6069 and Senate Bill 3130 slowly put patients to coma and killing through overt euthanasia the dedicated and committed hospital employees;

President Benigno S. Aquino III’s Universal Health Care Program is no different from the previous government’s health policy. “It is a continuation of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank recipes of Health Sector Agenda and the FourMula One for Health. The Universal Health Care program boasts of the Public-Private Partnership Program and the Philippine Health Insurance Program as its two main pillars,” Robert Mendoza, secretary general of Alliance of Health Workers, said.

Health groups said Aquino has surpassed its predecessor in its aggressiveness to privatize government hospitals and public health care services under its euphemistic slogan of “Universal Health Care for All.”

Mendoza cited the fast tracking of House Bill 6069 or An Act Creating National Government Hospital Corporations filed by Bacolod Rep. Anthony Rolando Golez, Jr., which has been passed by the Committee on Health in the House of Representatives last May 16. The bill proposed to corporatize 26 DOH retained hospitals; among these public hospitals are San Lazaro Hospital, Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Veterans Regional Hospital, Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, Zamboanga City Medical Center among many others.

In the Senate, Sen. Franklin Drilon filed Senate Bill 3130 or the National Government Hospital Corporate Restructuring Act, which also has the same content as HB 6069. These are all strongly opposed by progressive groups.

Aquino also placed the Philippine Orthopedic Center, San Lazaro Hospital, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, the Eversley Child Sanitariam in Metro Cebu and 21 more regional hospitals under PPP projects for “modernization and improving of health facilities and services” with the promised return in investment in revenue sharing, lease fees per treatment with diagnostic equipment.

“The Aquino government is reneging on its responsibility to adequately provide for public hospitals by reducing subsidy and corporatizing public hospitals. Corporatization of public hospitals is privatization by another name. This will increase the cost of health services and further aggravate the present dismal plight of our poor patients and health workers,” Mendoza said.

           Magandang araw po, aking mga magbabasa. Narito po akong muli para sa panibagong reaksyon ukol sa House Bill 6069 at Senate Bill 3130. Ang layon ng mga Bill na ito ay nakapaskil sa itaas. Tunghayan po ninyong muli ang aking reaksyon ukol sa pagsasapribado ng mga pampublikong kagawaran at korporasyon ng ating gobyerno.

           Isa na namang maituturing na kalokohan para sa nakararami, o masasabi rin nilang isang kalapastangan ang ginagawang hakbang ng ating gobyerno kung saan ipasasapribado nila ang maraming ospital upang makakalap ng pondo para sa mga programang ipatutupad ng pamahalaan. Ang ipinagtataka ko lang, anong programa ang pinagtutuunan ng pansin ng ating pamahalaan at halos kating-kati na sila na ibenta ang dalawamput anim na pampublikong ospital? At isa pa ay paano kami makakasiguro na tama ang patutunguhan ng mga perang nailagak sa kanilang kamay patungo sa kanilang programa, kung sakaling matuloy ang pagbebenta ng dalawamput anim na pampublikong ospital? Kung kailan tayo nangangailangan ng FOI o Freedom of Information bill ay saka sila nagsisingit ng kanilang mga hinaing at ninanais upang matakluban at matagalan ang pagpapatupad ng FOI. Hindi kapani-paniwala ang mga nangyayari sa ating paligid, lalo na at hindi natin nalalaman ang mga rason at kadahilanan kung bakit nila ginawa o ginagawa ang mga iyon. Marahil sa isang pagkakamali marami ang pwedeng madamay, ngunit hindi tayo dapat mawalan ng pag-asang gigising din ang ating pamahalaan sa katotohanan at saka lang nila malalaman ang paraan kung paano kumilos at iayos ang mga maling gusot na nagawa nila. Magkakaroon din tayo ng pagbabago dito sa ating nasilayang kasalukuyan. Ang mga ospital na yan ay magagamit parin ng nakararami. Magtiwala tayong hindi matuloy ang kanilang adhikain para sa personal nilang kagustuhan. Kaisa kayo sa dapat manalangin upang ang mga manganganak na nanay, ang mga pilay at may sakit at ang mga nagkaroon ng malubhang karamdaman ay may mapuntahang ligtas at murang serbisyo mula sa gobyerno. Hindi ko ipinapanukalang masama ang adhikain ng gobyerno ngunit kung kanila itong rerepormahin o pupuliduhin ay maaaring magkaroon ng mabuting epekto ang hindi pagsasapribado ng mga pampublikong ospital.

Muli po, ako ay nagpapaalam. Nawa po ay may natutunan po kayo sa aking reaksyon. Maraming salamat po at magandang araw pong muli!