Former Vice President Jejomar Binay slammed on Monday the government's decision to cut the proposed 2022 budget of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"In the proposed 2022 budget, PGH was allotted P5.67 billion, lower than the P6.87 billion for this year. This is part of the huge cuts in the budget of the University of the Phillippines (UP) totaling P1.3 billion. The PGH is part of the UP System," Binay said in a statement.
"Ang PGH ang ospital ng mahihirap nating kababayan. Lalo na sa panahon ng COVID. Dito dinadala ang marami nating kababayan na nagkakasakit. Nakita na natin ang kakulangan ng pasilidad ng PGH pero sa halip na dagdagan ang budget, binawasan pa (PGH is the hospital of poor Filipinos, especially during this time of COVID. We saw how insufficient the facilities of PGH are but instead of increasing their budget, the government opted to decrease it," he added.
Binay said that If the PGH budget cut is still an extension of the administration’s ideological war against UP, "it is misguided and wrong" and added that it also underscores the disastrous management of the pandemic and misplaced priorities in the 2022 budget.
"Congress should not only restore the budget of PGH but increase it. This will correct an unforgivable act of neglect not only for the value of academic freedom in a democracy but public health during a disastrous pandemic," Binay said.