MANILA - More medicines were added in March this year on the list of VAT-exempt health products intended for patients with cancer, diabetes, kidney diseases, mental illness, tuberculosis, high cholesterol, and hypertension.

The news brought relief to people like Amadeo Amande who spends an average of P200 a week for his hypertension medicine.

"Malaking bagay po talaga sa akin yung pag mura kasi unang una, hindi na ako kakapusin sa budget ko po, (sa) pang-araw araw po na pangangailangan, sa pagkain po, mga bayarin,” Amande told ABS-CBN News in an interview.

Apart from more affordable medicines, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. also vowed in his first State of the Nation Address last year to “bring medical services to the people and not wait for them to come” to hospitals and health care centers.

The Department of Health (DOH) said construction of a multi-specialty center medical center in Clark will begin this month.

The structure is expected to house its own heart, kidney, cancer, and pediatric centers.

• Marcos says admin 'relentlessly pushing' for universal healthcare

Health workers are being recruited and trained to serve in the planned multi-specialty centers, according to the DOH.

"Sa napakamatagal na panahon, ang mga specialty center natin ay matatagpuan lamang sa Metro Manila. Ang pangangailangan sa mga serbisyong may kinalaman sa puso, sa lungs, sa kidney ay di lamang para sa mga taga-Metro Manila. Kaya itong plano na magkaroon ng multi-specialty center ay isang napaka-importante na magiging accomplished sa pamumuno ng ating Pangulo,” Health Undersecretary and DOH Spokesperson Dr. Eric Tayag said.

He said the administration intends to build more “super health centers” to address the primary care needs of the poor as specialty centers will be housed in public hospitals in the provinces.

COVID-19

The administration is also currently studying the lifting of the country’s public health emergency status as the COVID-19 pandemic eased.

• Marcos to issue order lifting COVID public emergency 'soon', says Herbosa

It has already lifted restrictions and did not reimpose the mask mandate despite an uptick in the number of COVID cases in the first half of the year.

“Sapagkat binalanse po ng ating Pangulo at ng maraming namumuno sa iba-ibang sangay ng pamahalaan ang kalusugan at kabuhayan. Isipin n'yo na lang kung nagpatuloy pa po ang mga restriction, eh baka hindi na tayo makabangon,” Tayag said.

Instead, the DOH urged the public to continue to avail of free vaccines and booster shots and has started to roll out bivalent vaccines for healthcare workers and senior citizens.

The DOH targets to finish the first batch of 390,000 doses of Pfizer bivalent vaccines donated by Lithuania as it expects to receive more from the COVAX facility.

Data from the DOH shows only 48,354 of the eligible population from the priority groups A1 (43,464) and A2 (4,890) have been inoculated with the bivalent shot as of July 14.

HEALTH WORKERS

In his first SONA, Marcos vowed to “exert all efforts to improve the welfare of our doctors, our nurses, and other medical frontliners.”

But the Alliance of Health Workers sees no change, saying issues such as low wages, undistributed benefits, and understaffing and contractualization in hospitals have yet to be addressed.

“Hindi namin ramdam ito dahil parang walang pagbabago pa rin… kung doon sa usapin sa malalang understaffing, mababang sahod,” said AHW national president Robert Mendoza.

“Kaya ito ang ating major na panawagan talaga: Itigil ang contractualization sa hanay ng health workers, magkaroon ng mass hiring para matugunan ang chronic understaff at number one, itaas ang sahod, ‘yung nakabubuhay na sahod, family living wage. Ang panawagan namin ay dapat yung entry salary ng salary grade is P33,000 and then for both public and private nurses, ang entry salary ay dapat nasa P50,000.”

For Congress’ incoming session, the Health Department expects the passage of a law setting up the country’s own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a priority measure of Marcos aimed at strengthening the surveillance system and laboratories during health emergencies.

Heath Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said he is willing to listen to complaints of health care workers and nurses groups including issues raised on their pay and benefits.

"Of course, 'pag iisipin mo ang health workers, umaalis ang health care workers natin. So we’re not able to pay them the pay scale that they can get abroad. So very important that we really take care of them, ito yung aking number 7 sa aking 8-point priority agenda: take care of our health care workers," he said.

"And it’s very important we listen to them. Pakinggan natin sila and make sure we are able to address the complaints that they have. Ako naman, nakikinig lang sa sinasabi nila," he added.

On the call to increase the pay of government health workers and distribution of remaining arrears, Herbosa said, “Of course that’s legislation, sana isama yun."

"Yung arrears, of course, naka-budget na yun sa ating national expenditure. At ngayon, Inuutos ko na nga na i-release na ang mga for 2023 na arrears pa,” he said, pointing out though that certain processes in government have just to be followed.

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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