Diokno: Restoring budget for health facilities program ‘irrational’

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno is standing firm on slashing the 2019 budget of the Department of Health (DOH), particularly the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP).

“It is irrational, if not downright suspicious, to restore the budget for a program like that," Diokno said at a forum in Pasig City on Wednesday.

This came after senators questioned the cuts on the 2019 budget of the DOH, which the lawmakers said could adversely affect the construction of hospitals and health facilities and jobs of 15,000 doctors and health personnel in different parts of the country.

Senator Franklin Drilon also asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to submit an amendment to the DOH budget to provide enough funds for the construction and maintenance of health facilities throughout the country.

Asked to comment on Drilon's proposal, Diokno said it is “not on the table.”

“They have to go back to the drawing board on HFEP. We have two COA reports citing P6.1 billion and P1.5 billion in irregularities. Cumulatively, that’s about half the total amount disbursed for HFEP since it was implemented,” the Budget chief said.

According to the DBM, the HFEP is allocated only P50 million in the proposed budget, down from its P30 billion allocation in the 2018 and P24 billion allocation in the 2017 GAA.

The dismal spending performance and COA-reported irregularities in the implementation of the HFEP was among the main reasons for the massive reduction in its budget allocation, said the DBM.

As of June 30, 2018, the total disbursements for HFEP have only reached around P15.5 billion, around 11 percent of the total P138.1 billion appropriations provided for the program since 2008.

“The agreement with the Department of Health is that they will undertake a careful assessment of the program–that is what the P50 million is for,” Diokno said.

“In the meantime, the DOH can spend the obligation balance it has incurred over the years for HFEP," he added.

The DBM said the the unliquidated obligation for the HFEP amounts to P64.7 billion, while the unobligated allotment is P21.1 billion for a total of P85.8 billion.

In 2017, the Commission on Audit (COA) released a Performance Audit Report on HFEP.

According to the report, the program accounts for P6.1 billion worth of irregularities based on a review of audit findings from 2013 to 2016.

The report cited “gaps in program implementation” resulting in idle/ unutilized equipment worth P630.8 million, delayed distribution to end-users or undelivered equipment worth P191 million, defective equipment worth at least P50.5 million, as well as delayed procurement, start, completion and utilization of infrastructure projects worth P5.25 billion.

The report included the P1.5 billion worth of irregularities cited in the 2016 DOH Consolidated Annual Audit Report for HFEP infrastructure projects which are either yet to start, delayed, or not used despite completion.

Drilon also warned that more than 15,000 health workers will lose their jobs should the DBM insist on cutting the DOH budget.

The budget for the Human Resource for Health (HRH) Development Program, which allows government to contract the services of medical professionals, decreased by 6.18 percent or P594 million, from P9.6 billion in the 2018 GAA to P9.006 billion in the 2019.

Actual disbursement for HRH in 2017 was 77.44 percent, or P6.4 billion out of the P8.3 billion appropriations.

This means the DOH was not able to fill all positions as funded in the GAA, the DBM said.

“The DOH budget is actually bigger than what they have been able to spend in the past. We are giving them P9.0 billion compared to the P6.4 billion they actually utilized in FY 2017,” Diokno said.

Of the proposed 2019 amount for HRH, an amount of P7.8 billion is lodged under the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) for the conversion of Job Order items to permanent and contractual positions.

“This will give our health professionals job security and full benefits for their service. We are doing this to be able to deliver a higher standard of health service to the Filipino people,” Diokno said. — MDM, GMA News