Drilon, Go agree on how to fund local hospital bills in 2022

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senator Bong Go on Wednesday agreed that funding for the nine local hospital bills the latter had been sponsoring be sourced from the 2022 national budget.

The bills, which seek increase the bed capacity of nine local hospital, were eventually approved on second reading on Wednesday.

This after the lawmakers inserted the amendment, which indicated that each bill will be funded under the Department of Health’s (DOH) Health Facilities Enhance Program (HFEP) in the 2022 General Appropriations Act.

Before the two lawmakers agreed to include the funding for the local hospitals in the 2022 budget, Drilon said his original proposal was to source the funds from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefit Fund (MPBF) and the Pension and Gratuity Fund (PGF).

In his statement earlier this day, Drilon said MPBF has P29.3 billion, while PGF has P152.9 billion under this year’s budget.

In 2020 alone, he said there are about P18 billion in savings from MPBF and another P17.45 billion from PGF.

Drilon further mentioned that data from the past five years would show that these funding allocations are largely underutilized.

As an example, Drilon said that the PGF was used to augment intelligence funds and to purchase helicopters for the Philippine National Police in 2017.

Responding to Drilon’s original proposal, Go appealed to Drilon to just agree on the inclusion of the funding for the local hospitals in the DOH budget for HFEP in the 2022 budget.

Should the funds from the HFEP is insufficient, he said that is the time that the government can tap the MPBF or PGF.

Go maintained that MPBF and the PGF should not be realigned as these are intended for the additional plantilla positions for health workers and the retirement benefits of government employees, respectively.

“I like to appeal to the Senate minority floor leader. Sir, kung pwede ho bang agree na lang tayo kung saan kukunin yung appropriation for the capital outlay of this lying in clinic, [it] shall be sourced out from the DOH Health Enhancement Program support for Capital outlay and if funding is insufficient do’n kukunin sa dalawang source of funds,” he said.

(Sir, can we just agree to source the funds for the capital outlay of this lying in clinic from the DOH HFEP and if the funding is insufficient, then we should get it from the two sources of funds.)

“According to the [Department of Budget and Management], baka pwede po sa 2022 na po kunin since naka-allot na po ang pondo [ng HFEP] sa 2021, Mr President,” Go added.

(According to the DBM, we can include the funding in the 2022 budget since the funds for HFEP under the 2021 budget is already allotted to specific items.)

But Drilon reiterated that these local bills may be enacted in the law by July and yet there are no funds available for its implementation.

“That is why I am proposing this, because as the Secretary of Budget said in the LEDAC meeting today, the problems with us is that we pass laws which are the unfunded mandates that is why I don’t want to disappoint our people. We pass a law which will add hospital beds in Rizal Palawan and yet there is no fund?” Drilon said.

“If we follow the proposal of the DBM, niloloko lang po natin ang taong bayan, alangan pera nila ang ilagay doon. E kunwari dinadagdagan natin ang hospital bed. That is my point. That is why I beg the good sponsor to accept this proposal because this will make the health facility improvement more credible dahil po may kasamang appropriation,” he further pointed out.

(If we follow the proposal of the DBM, we are just deceiving the public. We cannot put their personal money for that. It will just appear that we are adding hospital beds but we are not. That is my point. That is why I beg the good sponsor to accept this proposal because this will make the health facility improvement more credible because this has corresponding appropriations.)

At this point, Go told Drilon that he is seeking for the enactment of these hospital bills so that it could be included in the 2020 National Expenditures Program which will be submitted of the Executive Department to Congress after the State of the Nation Address.

“Ang atin po dito ay habulin po natin sa NEP sa darating July ‘yun na po ‘yung submission na po ng budget para masigurado at obligahin po natin ang ating DOH na pondohan po ito,” he said.

(What we want to do is to include the funding in the NEP which will be up for submission this July so that we can ensure and oblige the DOH to fund this.)

“I got the point of the Senate minority floor leader…Ang sabi po ng DBM dito, hindi po talaga pwdeng galawin sa 2021 yung MPBF at tsaka itong PGF,” he added.

(I got the point of the Senate minority floor leader… The DBM said, we cannot afford to realign the 2021 funds for MPBF and the PGF.)

Go further cited that the DBM has identified around P5.518 billion under the unprogrammed funds for HFEP which could be used once the Department of Finance issues a certificate of excess revenue.

However, Drilon explained that unprogrammed funds mean there are no available cash to fund the projects.

“Kaya unprogrammed maghahanap pa ng pondo. So again. By this technicality, it is made to appear to our appear that we are funding the hospital and the health services, when in fact we have not,” Drilon said.

(That is why it is called unprogrammed funds because the government is yet to find funds for this. By this technicality, it is made to appear to our appear that we are funding the hospital and the health services, when in fact we have not.)

He further appealed to the DBM to “stop foisting these improper proposals on the Senate” as it is obvious that they are trying to avoid funding the said bills.

“We agree, initially, it should be from the health enhancement fund, but if it is not sufficient and the way the DBM is breaking this proposal, wala pong funding ito. Wag po tayong maglokohan, ganon po ang sinasabi ng DBM,” Drilon ended.

(We should not fool ourselves. That's what the DBM is trying to say.)

At this point, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri moved to suspend the deliberations to find a common ground on the proposals of the two senators.

The bills that were eventually approved on second reading are the following:

• House Bill No. 2582: An Act Increasing The Bed Capacity Of The Lying-In Clinic In The Municipality Of Rizal, Province Of Palawan From Ten (10) Beds To Twenty (20) Beds, Upgrading Its Service Facilities And Professional Health Care Services, Authorizing The Increase Of Its Medical Personnel, And Appropriating Funds Therefor
• House Bill No. 6498: An Act Increasing The Bed Capacity Of The Naguilian District Hospital In The Municipality Of Naguilian, Province Of La Union From Twenty-Five (25) Beds To Fifty (50) Beds And Appropriating Funds Therefor
• House Bill No. 6729: An Act Increasing The Bed Capacity Of The Rosario District Hospital In The Municipality Of Rosario, Province Of La Union From Twenty-Five (25) To Fifty (50) Beds And Appropriating Funds Therefor
• House Bill No. 6727: An Act Increasing The Bed Capacity Of The Sinait District Hospital In Sinait, Ilocos Sur From Twenty-Five (25) Beds To One Hundred (100) Beds And Appropriating Funds Therefor
• House Bill No. 6731: An Act Establishing A General Hospital In The City Of Bacolod, Province Of Negros, Occidental, To Be Known As The Bacolod City General Hospital, And Appropriating Funds Therefor
• House Bill No. 6850: An Act Establishing A General Hospital In The Municipality Of Rosales, Province Of Pangasinan To Be Known As The Eastern Pangasinan Regional Medical And Trauma Center, And Appropriating Funds Therefor
• House Bill No. 7321: An Act Establishing A General Hospital In Barangay Lacaron, Municipality Of Malita, Province Of Davao Occidental To Be Known As The Davao Occidental General Hospital, And Appropriating Funds Therefor
• House Bill No. 5870: An Act Establishing A Three Hundred (300)-Bed Capacity Tertiary Training And General Hospital In Barangay Mauway, City Of Mandaluyong To Be Known As The Senate President Neptali A. Gonzales General Hospital, And Appropriating Funds Therefor
• House Bill No. 6753: An Act Converting The Medina Extension Hospital In The Municipality Of Medina, Province Of Misamis Oriental Into A General Hospital To Be Known As The First Misamis Oriental General Hospital, And Appropriating Funds Therefor

The debate between the two senators started last week when Go expressed frustration over Drilon’s line of questioning on the bills seeking to increase the bed capacity of 15 local hospitals.

Go indicated that the minority leader was delaying the passage of the measures when Drilon pressed him to answer queries on the implication of the devolution of health services to the local government units under the Local Government Code of 1991 to the bills he was sponsoring.

Drilon also raised the Mandanas ruling of the Supreme Court, which stated in 2018 that local governments' internal revenue allotments would be sourced from all revenues collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.

However, Go argued that the local government units' budget cannot shoulder the expenses to build hospitals, adding that the national government must step in to help in construction of health facilities.

On Tuesday night, Drilon and Go debated anew as the minority leader pointed out that it was not his interpellation that delayed the passage of the bills.

Drilon said it was Go's Committee on Health which failed to act on the measures for more than a year. —NB, GMA News