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Angara: Senators to be more keen on DOH budget over leadership issues
By ERWIN COLCOL,GMA NewsSenator Sonny Angara is expecting his fellow senators to be more discerning during their deliberations on the proposed 2021 budget of the Department of Health amid issues involving Secretary Francisco Duque III's leadership as well as on PhilHealth.
In a Dobol B sa News TV interview on Sunday, Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, said Duque's ability to meet the demands of the senators in terms of his performance as health chief as well as accountability on issues hounding the agency will be a factor on how much the Senate will allocate for the DOH next year.
He recalled that at least 14 senators had signed a resolution seeking Duque's resignation
for "failure of leadership, negligence, lack of foresight, and inefficiency in the performance of his mandate" amid the COVID-19 pandemic."Marami tayong hinihingi sa kanya in terms of deliverables and accountability. Medyo palagay ko that will be a factor, magiging factor yan sa pag-impluwensya ng mga senador kung ano ang budget na ilalaan sa kanyang department," Angara said.
Nevertheless, Angara said the Senate will not sacrifice the budget for health programs that the public needs the most at this time just because of Duque.
"Hindi namin isasakripisyo yung kabutihan ng ating mga kababayan at yung pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan dito, dahil you're talking about budget for hospitals, budget for medicine, at yun ay dapat maging propesyunal tayo sa pagtingin diyan despite our reservations regarding the leadership," he said.
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The DOH has a proposed budget of P203.1 billion for next year, of which P71.5 billion is allocated for the controversial PhilHealth.
Angara said the DOH traditionally does not completely use up the budget allocated for it, and its low disbursement rate has always been questioned during the deliberations on the department's annual budget.
The low disbursement rate, he said, is usually seen in two of DOH's programs: the Health Facilities Enhancement Program, which deals with the upgrading of health facilities, and on Human Resources for Health (HRH).
"Ang sabi nila, kapag tinatanong namin noong nakaraang taon bakit hindi nagagastos yung budget na binibigay dito sa pagha-hire ng health personnel, sabi nila minsan walang nag-a-apply especially sa mga probinsya," Angara said.
Angara is hoping that since there is a ban on the deployment of medical professionals abroad, the DOH would use the opportunity to hire more doctors and nurses to be able to fully utilize its allocation for HRH.
"Siguro, as an alternative, baka tignan nila itong mga public positions sa gobyerno na sa ngayon, ayon sa DOH, ay nababakante. Yun sana ang mangyari diyan at ma-fill up na itong mga vacant positions," he said. —LBG, GMA News