DOH, IATF told to report P9B expenditure on makeshift hospitals, isolation facilities

Senator Risa Hontiveros is calling on concerned government agencies to release a public report on the P9 billion fund intended for makeshift hospitals and isolation facilities after medical facilities got overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases.

In a statement Tuesday, Hontiveros urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and the Department of Health (DOH) to publicize the report on the use of this amount.

"The P9 billion, if effectively used, is supposed to go to setting up temporary but humane and fully equipped makeshift hospitals. Filipinos shouldn’t have to watch their loved ones die, sometimes under the heat of the sun, just because hospitals are full,” she said.

According to Hontiveros, the P9 billion budget for Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs) and isolation facilities under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act needs to be flagged as "urgent expenditure" while hospitals are already reaching full capacity amid the surge of COVID-19 patients.

She also noted the importance of quickly reinforcing and upgrading the IATF and DOH's One Hospital Command Center (OHCC), which is a hotline which aims to refer patients to hospitals that still have bed capacity, but has reportedly been ‘unreachable’ due to its supposed "basic setup" system.

“People are running from city to city while experiencing an emergency because the OHCC cannot be reached. The OHCC could have easily harnessed the capabilities of our world-class BPOs. Filipinos answer the phones when the world calls. We don't deserve these busy signals,” Hontiveros said.

“With the billions in funding we have available, that is nothing but another lazy copout. Every phone call they do or do not pick up can spell the difference between life and death. We have known for many months that COVID variants, if left uncontained, could overwhelm our hospitals. Why didn’t we prepare for the worst?” she added.

Hontiveros also noted that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation can accredit additional TTMFs in order to reimburse its operating cost.

“It is important to set up makeshift treatment centers where we can. With added support from the government, it is a system that will be easier to replicate in more areas, especially in areas where hospitals can no longer accommodate more patients,” she said.

“Our health workers and our patients need full support. There is no excuse as to why we are holding back from giving them the best that their lives depend on,” she added.

The rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country prompted the reimplementation of an enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna until April 11.

OCTA Research fellow Dr. Butch Ong, however, said hospital occupancy will remain in critical level until the end of the week despite the continued implementation of ECQ.—AOL, GMA News