Plan to privatize gov't hospitals bucked

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers have warned that the plan to privatize government hospitals would further burden the poor.

In a statement Saturday, the House of Representatives said lawmakers have filed a bill to prohibit the privatization of government hospitals to ensure that health care services are affordable and accessible to Filipino people.

Reps. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City) and Maximo Rodriguez Jr. (Partylist, Abante Mindanao) said House Bill 3994, to be known as Government Hospitals' Privatization Act, prohibits the Secretary of the Department of Health to privatize, sell or offer for sale all government hospitals.

The lawmakers were reacting to reports that the National Orthopedic Hospitals in Quezon City and other government hospitals were being offered for privatization under the Public-Private Partnership Scheme of the government.

"While it is true that the government is experiencing difficulty in infusing the much needed funds to continually upgrade and acquire sophisticated and advanced medical equipment, it is a reality that majority of the people rely on these government hospitals for their medical and health needs," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the corresponding increase in medical cost would ensue once the privatization of government hospitals is pursued and the increase in cost of hospitalization will be an additional burden to the poor.

"Some people cannot even afford adequate shelter, food, clothing and education. Worst, accessible and affordable health care services being offered by government hospitals will be beyond their reach," Rodriguez said.

The "Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center" project is under the Public-Private Partnership Scheme of the Aquino administration - the first government hospital to be privatized. The project costing P5.6 billion was awarded to Megawide Construction Corp. and World Citi Consortium.

Petitiones have already filed a  petition before the Supreme Court opposing the privatization of the orthopedic hospital.

The petitioner said the State's responsibility is to provide and ensure that the basic social service "should not be relinquished to a private entity through privatization or commercialization of a government hospital to the prejudice of the poor and underprivileged."

The petitioners include doctors and nurses from the Network Opposed to Privatization of Public Hospitals and Health Services (NOP), Council for Health and Development (CHD), Nars ng Bayan Community Health Nurses’ Association, Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), Health Alliance for Human Rights (HAHR), People’s Health Movement, Community Medicine Practitioners and Advocates Association (COMPASS); Head Alliance for Democracy (HEAD), leaders of citizens’ groups Makabayan, Gabriela, Kalipunan ng Damayan ng Mahihirap (KADAMAY), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), and congressmen from Bayan Muna and Kabataan party-list.