AHW to DOH Secretary Ona: Defend Health Workers Rights and Benefits

Press Statement
November 11, 2012

Reference: Mr. Jossel I. Ebesate
National President
Contact No. 09189276381 

The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) warily considers the recent assurance of the DOH Secretary Ona, "that by the end of this year, all of these so-called doctorless municipalities will be filled." Wary because, while such move has been long overdue, Ona himself admitted that some of these physicians would serve up to 50,000 population which is more than doubled the WHO prescribed doctor to population ratio of 1:20,000. But we are much more wary on the lack of support by the Department of Health to these municipal doctors.

To recall, sometime ago, a doctor and a graduate of the UP College of Medicine assigned somewhere in Agusan  came in conflict with the local military while in pursuit of his duties and functions. DOH merely reassigned said doctor to the DOH Regional Office without even seeking an investigation to uphold the right of said doctor. This also left the municipality without a doctor for some time.

Just recently, the Department of Health sits idly as personnel of the entire Municipal Health Office of Tarragona, Davao Oriental are being harassed by the local officials led by the Mayor of Tarragona. To date, the Municipal Health Officer is given termination order without due process and the salaries of rural health midwives and other local health workers withheld, also without due process. Unbelievably, the root cause of all these harassment was their petition to the Sangguniang Bayan for the release of their monetary benefits provided under the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers (RA 7305).

We therefore challenge DOH Secretary Ona, to immediately intervene, in behalf of our fellow public health workers in Tarragona, Davao Oriental. We are further challenging him to safeguard the rights of all public health workers in the country, including their monetary benefits as provided by law.#