Sotto: DOH's family health program anomalous

MANILA, Philippines - Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III today revealed the "obvious corruption" of a multi-million budget of the Department of Health (DOH) for family health programs.

In a privilege speech, Sotto said the DOH allocated a total grant of P423-million budget for family planning, particularly the provisions for support for Maternal, Neo-Natal and Child Health and Nutrition (MNNCHN).

 Sotto said that based on DOH records, millions of funds were supposedly distributed to local government units (LGUs), including highly-urbanized cities, from 2008 to 2010.

 "When I started my inquiries to our LGUs, whether they received the money indicated under the family health program of the DOH supposedly allotted to them. To my astonishment, the answer is no," the senator said.

 He said that based on DOH's records, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte was supposed to have received P644,525.60 for 2008; P602,590 for 2009; and P2,470,379 for 2010.

 "Yet when I asked the heads of LGUs concerned, I was told that they did not receive a single centavo," the senator said.

He added that local officials in Batangas, Lucena City and Quezon province told him that they also did not receive funds that were supposedly allotted to them by the DOH under the family health program.

He said that officials in the provinces that he mentioned have given him certifications that they did not receive any fund from the DOH. He added that officials in other key cities and provinces have given him "verbal confirmation of this anomalous situation."

Sotto said that the same funds will be used by the DOH for the implementation of the House of Representatives' version of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, if it is approved.

He said that if the House-version of the RH bill passes into law, it will "institutionalize" the corruption of the family health program's fund.

"If this is really the case, can we afford this to continue to happen? The House version of the reproductive health bill enhances these expenditures. Can we be assured that the taxpayers' money will no longer be wasted?" Sotto said. 

He urged senators that before they tackle the RH bill's counterpart in the Senate, they should first look into the alleged anomaly in the implementation of the family health program by the DOH.

"Advocates of RH bill are focusing on various issues: overpopulation, poverty, contraception, abortion, and so and so forth. It is best that we look into it here and now because I smell that there is something rotten in this state of affairs," he said.

He added: "Pag-usapan muna natin itong kasalukuyang pinagkakagastusan ng DOH na gagamitin ng RH bill na ngayon pa lang anomalous na. Ito ang magiging kalakaran ng RH bill 'pag nagkataon."

 Sotto, one of those who oppose the passage of the RH bill, asked the Senate's blue-ribbon, health and finance committees to conduct inquiries on the utilization of the family health program's fund.

In a television interview, former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said that she did not receive any complaints from LGUs about the allocation of family health funds during her brief stay at the DOH.

Cabral said she welcomes the possible congressional inquiries on Sotto's allegations.

She said that it was "grossly unfair" of Sotto to accuse the DOH of corruption "when the obvious target is to obstruct the passage of the RH bill."

Cabral said that it would be appropriate if Sotto would also make a clarification on whether the mentioned LGUs were actual beneficiaries of the program. She said that there is a provision in the program that limits the allocations to LGUs who are deemed capable and credible of providing maternal and neo-natal health to their constituents.