Senatorial candidate and incumbent Sorsogon Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the country’s implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act would be all for naught if it fails to benefit the poorest provinces, especially in Mindanao.
Escudero, who is gunning for a fresh Senate term in the upcoming May polls, said the South tend to be neglected when it comes to support for infrastructure development and health care, which explains why the municipalities and provinces there remain the poorest in the Philippines.
“You cannot have a healthy economy without a healthy constituency. And there can be no true UHC if the people in Mindanao continue to have little or no access to quality health care. That requires adequate supply of medicines, health equipment and health workers,” Escudero said in a statement.
“Right now, you have provinces in Mindanao that do not have barangay health centers for half their population. How can you have universal health care in these areas? Health care cannot be called ‘universal’ if somebody is left out or left behind,” the former senator said.
Sorsogon, according to Escudero, is among the pilot sites for the UHC law. It’s implementation, however, is anchored on effective primary health care and 100 percent health insurance coverage for the population.
Yet these are not easily achievable for many LGUs, he noted.
“We have 42,036 barangays in the country but only 55% have barangay health stations, which means almost half of our population do not have access to primary health care,” said Escudero.
“The Department of Health (DOH) should look into a more equitable distribution of health support, beginning with provinces in Mindanao,” he stressed.
Aside from this, Escudero said the DOH should also strengthen its Doctors to the Barrios (DTTB) program, wherein doctors are deployed to geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs). In 2017, only 215 DTTBs were serving under the program.
“How many of our DTTBs are deployed in Mindanao? Maybe the DOH should increase the incentives for doctors who choose the difficult path of community medicine and to ensure their safety as they make their way to the remotest villages,” Escudero said.
Aside from improving health care access, he also said the next administration should continue the Build, Build, Build program, which has benefitted Mindanao in the last six years.
Compared to Luzon, Mindanao is the region that needs help when it comes to infrastructure programs the most.
“Dapat magtayo at magpalakas din tayo ng mga sentro ng komersyo sa iba’t ibang parte ng Mindanao, gaya ng ginawa sa Davao (We need to build and strengthen commercial centers in different parts of Mindanao, like what they did in Davao),” Escudero said.