Senator Pia Cayetano is pushing for the exemption of medical equipment from all kinds of taxes, saying that the government should treat healthcare with utmost importance.
While she understands that the Department of Finance (DOF) is against tax exemptions, it should be a different case for medical equipment.
The lady solon said it will also help ensure that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s plan to put up specialty hospitals would materialize.
"Would the Department be at least willing to consider limited time for a tax-free, duty-free, VAT-free importation of medical equipment? Because we cannot put up these specialty hospitals without these specialty equipment," she noted during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Cayetano urged all the departments "to work together for a comprehensive and consistent program" related to healthcare.
"Any health advocate will agree that the most important aspect we should focus on is basic healthcare. Although I used the example of the President’s SONA mentioning specialty hospitals, therefore, I linked it to the specialty equipment, the most basic are still the most important, like x-ray machines, etc.," she added.