Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Friday urged the Duterte administration to include in its "Build, Build, Build" program the construction of hospitals and other health facilities.
In a statement, Recto lamented the "microscopic, one-percent" share of the health sector in the government's infrastructure spending plan for next year.
"A kind of budget prioritization that turns a blind eye to the health facility shortages the pandemic has laid bare. This is pandemic denialism," he said.
Recto said that of the some P1-trillion capital outlay component of the P4.506-trillion proposed 2021 national budget, P15.6 billion was allotted for the Department of Health (DOH).
He further noted that of the P15.6 billion, P5.5 billion for the construction of primary health care facilities was listed as under the unprogrammed appropriations, "which means it can only be released if revenue targets are hit and if loans for the projects can be secured."
"Malamang uutangin pa (Likely, that will be a loan)" he said.
Aside from the P5.5 billion, among the projects in the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) for 2021 are new health facilities (P4.7 billion), and P900 million for isolation facilities funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank.
Meanwhile, funds for the DOH's transportation equipment was pegged at P25 million, while "new buildings" was given P2.2 billion.
He said if government will go on a borrowing spree next year, it would be better if "the health dividend is big."
During a Senate hearing on the 2021 budget last week, Recto questioned the absence of allocation for health facilities under the Build, Build, Build (BBB).
"If we are willing to spend P1 trillion on BBB, why not also have a BBB for our local hospitals? There is nothing in the budget to increase bed capacity at the local level – district, provincial or regional hospitals," he said to economic managers.
"The pandemic is a CT-scan which gave us an image on how bad the internal structure of our public health system is," Recto said.
Under the proposed 2021 budget, DOH will receive a total of P203.1 billion, which includes funds for the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act.
Meanwhile, infrastructure projects under the Build, Build, Build will receive P1.107 trillion.