Senate cuts subsidy to government specialty hospitals by P347 M

The Senate has reduced the budgets for next year of four state-owned specialty hospitals in Quezon City by P347.5 million.

The Philippine Heart Center’s budget suffered the biggest cut of P181 million. Senators reduced its budget from P417 million as approved by the House to P236 million.

The National Kidney and Transplant Institute, also known as the Kidney Center, lost P117 million, bringing its 2009 funds down to P198.5 million.

Even the specialty hospital for children, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, was stripped of P47.5 million. That reduced its budget to P251 million.

The Lung Center of the Philippines suffered the smallest reduction, at P2 million. Its budget was cut to P161.6 million.

Only the budget for the Philippine Institute for Traditional and Alternative Health Care was kept at P40 million as approved by the House.

The Senate finance committee chaired by Sen. Edgardo Angara recommended the cuts.

Senators slashed various appropriations to fund their insertions amounting to more than P20 billion. Congressional insertions or initiatives, whether made by senators or congressmen, form part of their pork barrel.

The pet projects and agencies of senators received bigger budgets. For instance, the budget of the Aurora Special Economic Zone Authority, which is an Angara creation, was increased from P150 million to P400 million.

Funds for the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority were increased by P329 million to P1.129 billion. CEZA is a creation of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

Sought for comment, Quirino Rep. Junie Cua, House appropriations committee chairman, said congressmen would try to convince Angara and his colleagues to restore the hospitals’ funds.

“We cannot sacrifice health care especially during this difficult time when most people don’t have money for basic needs,” he said.

Last year, when Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman was appropriations committee chairman, he increased the budgets of the four specialty hospitals by more than P100 million.

He said the hospitals need bigger funds in view of the growing number of people afflicted with lung, kidney and heart-related problems.

Lagman turned over his post to Cua under a term-sharing arrangement at the start of the 14th Congress in July last year. He continues to serve in the committee as its senior vice chairman.

The Senate insertions in the 2009 budget have brought to a deadlock the Senate-House talks on the final shape of next year’s spending bill.

The conference committee, co-chaired by Cua and Angara, met only once last Tuesday. The talks immediately hit a snag as congressmen demanded to know the details of the Senate insertions.

Congress thus failed to approve next year’s budget last Wednesday, when it adjourned for the holidays.

Starting Jan. 1, this year’s P1.2-trillion outlay will be deemed reenacted. It will remain so until the 2009 spending bill is enacted.