Former Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Sunday said the government should consider utilizing the unused budget of underspending government agencies to fund the country’s healthcare programs.
In a press briefing in Sorsogon, Ejercito said the national government should consider this move since the country is still grappling with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Bilang (former) vice chair of the Committee on Finance, nakikita naman po natin kung gaano kalaki ang allotment, gaano kalaki ang budget, at gaano kalaki ang expenditures. Ang dami kasing unused funds diya (as a former vice chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, we can see how big the allotment, the budget and how big are the expenditures. Yet there are still many unused funds among government agencies),” Ejercito said.
“We can sacrifice elsewhere. But I think we have to prioritize universal healthcare,” said Ejercito, the principal author of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act.
“We have to prioritize healthcare, especially during this time of pandemic, we have to survive this first,” added the former lawmaker, who is now seeking a Senate comeback in the May elections.
Should he win a fresh term in the Senate in the upcoming May 2022 elections, Ejercito said he will look into the budgets of underspending government departments and ensure that the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Law, which he also principally sponsored, will be prioritized by the next administration.
“Yung mga savings ng ibang departamento, tignan po natin, ilagay nalang natin sa universal healthcare, para naman maramdaman (ito) ng bawat Pilipino (Let’s see the savings of other departments, and put these for our universal healthcare so that all Filipinos can feel that we have one),” he said.
He also said that aside from these savings, the former senator said the measure should be funded by existing sin taxes, revenue from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and the Presidential Social Fund.