Proposed 2012 National Health Budget: A perpetuation of government’s neglect on people’s health and welfare of health workers

Press Statement

August 20, 2011

Reference:

MR. JOSSEL I. EBESATE. RN 

National President, Alliance of Health Workers

Mobile Phone: 09189276381

The 2012 proposed budget for health increased by 31.7% from P32.427B in 2011 to P42.693B. However, this deceptive increase is not intended to improve public health services or make public hospitals relevant and accessible to poor patients.

The purported increase goes only on the P12.028B allocation for Philhealth subsidy to the poorest 5.2 million families (20% of the population) and P3B for national government counterpart for public-private partnership (PPP) projects to be implemented on government hospitals starting next year. Minus the P3.5B allocated for Philhealth subsidy for this year (2011), the health budget actually went down by 4% or P1.165B.

The Philhealth subsidy for the lowest 20% of the population negates the fact that 80% of our people relied on public health facilities for their health needs. Thus, leaving the next 60% of our people vulnerable to the increased cost of services that will result in the privatization of health services brought about by the PPP projects in public hospitals.  The supposed “zero balance billing” for the 22 most common ailments that will be started this September, covers only the poorest 20% of our people, leaving even those in the formal labor sector (and supposedly covered by Philhealth) to absorb the increased hospitalization cost, in excess of the Philhealth capitation.  Furthermore, it is a fact that Philhealth capitation covers only about 30% of the total health care costs.

The proposed 2012 national budget further decreased by P3M, the allocation for Magna Carta benefits for public health workers from P714M to P711M; instead of increasing it by P1.5B - to include all public health workers at the DedEd, hospitals under the DOH, and other agencies such as PGH and UP Manila (with P250M shortfall). Ever since the enactment of the law (RA 7305) in 1992, the national government failed to allocate funds for these benefits; thus, hospitals under the DOH have been sourcing their Magna Carta benefits from savings and internally generated funds.

It also failed to provide additional plantilla positions for public health care facilities in spite of admission from the DOH Secretary himself that public hospitals are understaffed by 300% for nurses alone (1:30 nurse-patient ratio in stead of the ideal 1:10 ratio).  The 12,000 nurses for 2012 under the RN HEALS program is only an annual (sic - temporary/contractual) employment opportunity, and a " drop in the bucket" compared to the more than 323,500 unemployed or mis-employed registered nurses.  The RN HEALS program is also a form of exploitation of our health professionals, comparable to the "volunteer with fees" in hospitals, because nurses under the said program only received P8,000.00 as monthly renumeration, compared to the P17,099.00 starting monthly salary for regular government nurses.

Finally, by centralizing the capital outlay of public hospitals under the DOH (through the  Facilities Enhancement Program) (P5.078B) at the DOH Central Office; and all unfilled positions in the government (P23.427B) at the DBM, the Pnoy government only perpetuated the lump-sum appropriations practiced by the previous administration, which have been proven to be the source of large scale corruption.#

State of Mental Hospital Address

Press Statement

July 29, 2011

References:  Romy Valenzuela,  NACEMHEA president

                          Armando Palaganas, NACEMHEA Vice-President
                          Mobile No. 0915-3039612

Mga kapwa ko manggagawang pangkalusugan sa National Center for Mental Health, mga residente ng Welfareville, kay Chief Nurse Lucy Espinosa, Nurse Supervisors, Department Heads, Clinical Instructors, mga estudyante, bantay ng mga pasyente, at iba pang manggagawang pangkalusugan mula sa iba’t ibang ospital sa ilalim ng Alliance of Health Workers, magandang tanghali sa inyo.

Sabi ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III sa kanyang ikalawang State of the Nation’s Address, tayo, mga kababayan, ang “butihing boss” niya. Wala diumanong “maiiwan sa tuwid na landas”. At sabi pa niya “aanhin naman po natin ang mga numerong naghuhudyat ng pag-asenso ng iilan, kung marami pa rin ang napag-iiwanan?”

Ano ang nangyayari sa atin sa Mental Hospital? Tuwid na landas ba ang planong muling pagbebenta sa lupain ng Mental at Welfareville? Tuwid na landas ba ang unahin ang tubo at kita sa pagkomersyalisa at pagpribatisa ng Welfareville na magbubunga sa dislokasyon ng mahigit 4,800 mahihirap na pasyenteng may sakit sa pag-iisip, mahigit 1,000 manggagawang pangkalsugan, at libu-libong residente ng Welfareville?  At saan tayo dadalhin, sa 10 ektaryang lupain sa Inarawan, Antipolo na napakalayo, maputik, di pa developed, at may kaso pa nga.  Panaginip at panlilinlang ni Soliman at ni PNoy, na sabihing walang matatanggal at walang maiiwan, na pasyente, manggagagawang pangkalusugan at residente.

Sabi ni Pangulong Aquino, susugpuin ang Kulturang Wang-wang. Hindi ba panlilinlang at pang-aabuso ng kapangyarihan ang ginagawa ng paborito niyang DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman kasama ang mga representante ng DOH, DOJ, DOF, DENR at World Bank na iskreto at hindi kinokonsulta tayong mga taga Mental at Welfareville sa kanilang planong muling pagbebenta ng Welfareville? Para kanino ba ang public-private partnership na ngayon pangunahing programa ni PNoy? Hind ba’t mga malalaking dyuhan at local na negosyo ang makikinabang kapag nabenta ang Mental at Welfareville at naprivatize ang ibat ibang pampublikong ospital? Sino kung gayon ang tunay na boss ni Aquino?

Tama ang sinabi ng babaeng nakausap ni Pangulong Aquino noong nangangampanya siya. Sabi ng babae “Miski sino naman ang manalo, pare-pareho lang ang kahihinatnan.”  Pare-pareho ang ginagawa sa atin ng iba’t ibang presidente- Si Marcos ginawa ang RA5260 at PD 1541 na nagbebenta sa Welfarevile at nagdedesentralisa ng Mental, si Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo gumawa ng mga Executive Orders para madaliin ang bentahan. At ngayon, malinaw pa sa sikat ng araw, ibebebenta pa rin ang Welfareville at Mental. Mayroon bang pagbabago sa administrasyon ni Aquino?

Ang hindi dapat magbago, bagkus pagtibayin, at palakasin - ang ating pagkakaisa at paglaban sa pang-aapi, panlilinlang at pagsasamantala sa atin ng mga ahensya at pinuno ng pamahalaan at dayuhang nais tayong pagkakitaan. Mula noong 1996, nagawa nating pigilan ang pagbebenta, kaya dapat lang at tama na tuluy-tuloy tayong kumilos at lumaban, kasama ang iba pang sector at organisasyon. Kasama natin sa laban ang mga progresibong parylist, kagaya ni Teddy Casino ng Bayan Muna, na ngayon ay gumagawa ng House Bill at Resolusyon para ipatigil ang planong bentahan at ibasura ang RA 5260. Maraming salamat sa lahat ng sumusuporta sa ating laban!

Mabuhay ang pasyenteng Pilipino, manggagagawang pangkalusugan, at residente ng Welfareville! Magsama-sama at organisadong tayong lumaban para sa ating karapatan at kagalingan. Sumama tayo sa landas ng tunay na pagbabago! 

State of the People’s Health: Pahayag ng Mga Manggagagawang Pangkalusugan

Press Statement

July 28, 2011

References:

• Jossel I. Ebesate: AHW National President, Mobile number: 09189276381
• Robert T. Mendoza: AHW Secretary General,  Mobile number: 09324649757

Nitong Hulyo 25 ikalawang State of the Nation’s Address  ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III, ipagmamalaki nito ang mga “nagawa” ng kanyang administrasyon.

Pero ano ang “ginawa”ni Aquino para sa mga pasyente at manggagawang pangkalusugan? Ito ang state of our public hospitals and public health workers:

·         Sabi ni PNoy- “Ang budget po ang pinakamalinaw na pagsasabuhay ng ating tuwid na landas” PERO, Kinaltasan nito ang badyet para sa Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) ng pampublikong ospital nitong 2011. Kulang na nga, lalo pang nagkulang ang mga gamot, suplay, at gamit. Tumaas ang singil sa Philippine General Hospital (PGH), Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC), at Philippine Heart Center (PHC), Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) at East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC).

·         Sabi ni Pinoy,  “Walang maiiwan sa tuwid na landas” Pero lalo nang di maaabot ng ordinaryong mamamayan ang serbisyong pangkalusugan dahil sa public-private partnership at iba pang porma ng pribatisasyon sa pampublikong ospital. Kumikita at tumutubo ang pribadong sektor sa iba’t ibang ospital gaya ng Himex sa radiology ng Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC), at Carte-blanche sa dietary at Fabricare sa Laundry ng LCP. Ibebenta ang lupa ng National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) at isusubasta ang PHC. Ipapailalim sa Public-Private Partnership ang POC, San Lazaro Hospital (SLH), at Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

·         Binabawi at kulang ang mga benepisyo ng mga manggagawang pangkalusugan. Mahigit  P100,000/empleyado ang disallowances sa LCP, pinababalik ang Loyalty Incentive at itinigil ang Birthday cash gift at work-life balance sa PHC, pinapipili sa longevity pay at step increment sa POC at Tondo Medical Center, at hindi updated ang hazard pay sa NCMH. Walang CNA incentives ilang taon na sa PHC at LCP. Kulang at halos walang benepisyo ang mga health workers sa Local Government Units.

·         Wala ni singkong dagdag sa sweldo! Nilinlang tayo sa diumano pagpapaaga ng implementasyon ng Salary Standardization Law 3 third tranche at mid year bonus, pero sa harap ng matinding krisis, wala pa ring dagdag sa sweldo!

·         Sabi ni PNoy, “Dagdag-trabaho ang unang panata natin sa Pilipino. Ang 8 percent na unemployment rate noong Abril ng nakaraang taon, naibaba na sa 7.2 percent nitong Abril ng 2011.” Pero tanggalan o streamlining sa anyo ng transfer, attrition at early retirement ang nagaganap sa health workers. Walang dagdag na plantilla, habang pinapalaganap ang kontraktwalisasyon, job-order, “volunteerism” at iba pang flexible labor arrangements.

·         Nililinlang, hinahati ang hanay ng manggagawang pangkalusugan at dinudurog ang militanteng union sa pampublikong ospital. Hindi kinikilala at ginigipit ng management ang mga accredited sole bargaining unit sa NCMH, JRRMMC, POC at PCMC.  Itinutulak ng DOH at hospital management sa basbas ng administrasyong Aquino ang pro-management unions gaya ng UKKKS na nag-aalok ng P40,000 incentive kapalit ng karapatan at kalayaan sa pag-uunyon.

Sabi ni PNoy, “Mga minamahal kong kababayan, ang aking butihing mga boss” Pero sino ang tunay na “boss” ni Aquino? Hindi ang mamamayan, hindi ang manggagawang pangkalusugan, kundi mga pulitiko at panginoong may lupa, at  lokal at dayuhang mamumuhunan. Hindi serbisyo, kundi dagdag na kita at tubo ang layon ng mga ginawa ni Aquino. Ibayong pagkakasakit at pagdurusa ang nararanasan natin sa diumano “matwid na landas”. Walang pagbabago sa ilalim ng administrasyong Aquino.

Buksan natin ang ating mga isipan, damhin ang kalam ng sikmura, isigaw ang  tunay nating kalagayan at ipaglaban ang sahod, trabaho, karapatan at serbisyong pangkalusugan. Kumilos at makipagkaisa sa iba pang aping sektor at uri ng lipunan. Organisado nating itulak ang landas ng tunay na pagbabago!

166 Contractual Workers Summarily Dismissed By DOH Seek “Justice”

PRESS RELEASE:
July 25, 2011 

“Unjust, inhumane, morally degrading,” these were the general sentiments of 166 Job Order/Contractual Personnel summarily dismissed last June 30, 2011 by the DOH central office from further undertaking the health program Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) under the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDPC).  Among them were 75 registered nurses that comprise 46% of the total project workforce.

As per the account of “Mark”, one of the field nurses, they learned of their termination late afternoon of June 30, 2011, from Ms. Vivencia Martinez, NCDPC Administrative officer who instructed 166 of them  not to report for work anymore effective the following day Friday, July 1, 2011 because, according to her, NCDPC  Director IV Dr. Lilibeth David said their Contracts have already ended. Then, at exactly 5 p.m. of the same day, a memo was posted signed by Dr. Kenneth Ronquillo, Director IV of the Health Human Resource Development Bureau (HHRDB) affirming said order with further advise for them to undergo a clearance process for the release of their last salary for service rendered between June 15 to 30, 2011.

“We were stunned and many were devastated of the sudden  and unexpected termination of our contracts.  Many of us nurses just arrived from an exhausting field work doing measles immunization where we really scoured the remotest villages to ensure that young children were given the measle shots.”

He said that the action of the present NCDPC management team under Dr. Lilibeth David was illegal if not questionable because the workers have already signed a contract for July-December 2011 under the former NCDPC head Director IV Dr. Eduardo C. Janairo prior to his transfer  to his current assignment at  Center for Health and Development-NCR.   The contract signing was done in May 2011 after a satisfactory job performance evaluation of the workers that served as basis for the renewal of their contracts from July to December, 2011.

Aggravating this “injustice” was the holding and non-release of the workers’ last salary and reimbursements of work-related expenses.  Not only were they not given due notice of their termination, they were also deprived of the salary that they have already worked for therefore rightfully theirs.

A petition signed by some of the terminated workers, including nurses, appealing for an immediate resolution of the case has been submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Dr. Enrique Ona; no response yet.  A complaint has also been filed with the Ombudsman and a letter was likewise submitted to the legal department of the Department of Health.

References:     MS. MARIS PRESTO-ABENOJAR, MAN, RN

Vice-President, NARS ng Bayan

cp : 09331827323 email: nars.philippines@yahoo.com

MR. MARK ALCARAZ DAQUIGAN, RN

cp: 09054307358

MR. JEOMAR BALAO-AS, RN

cp: 09395707858

Note:  All three were dismissed contractual nurses

MS. ELEANOR M. NOLASCO, RN

0915 513 6080; 0922 828 0928

President, NARS ng Bayan,

an association of Community Health Nurses and People’s Health Advocates
            

 

 

Justice for People Who Serve: The Plight of Contractual Personnel in the DOH

References: NARS ng Bayan/Alliance of Health Workers, Philippines

The Context of Hiring Contractual Personnel at the Department of Health

The Philippine government’s moral responsibility to save the lives of thousands of Filipino people from dying due to poor maternal and child health situation pushed the Department of Health to adopt the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Nutrition Strategy last 2008 as a significant element of its overall framework of Universal Health Care.

Four years later, the grim picture of maternal deaths, neonatal and infant deaths, and the poor access of thousands of mothers and children to essential health care remains to be seen. To fast track the MNCHN implementation nationwide at the local levels, the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDPC) under the leadership of its former Director, Dr. Eduardo C. Janairo, hired more than a hundred job order/contractual personnel to augment the health manpower who are supposed to catalyze the implementation of DOH health programs. Other than those contractual personnel last 2009, the following were hired between 2010 and 2011:

•27 hired 2010
•100 hired between February and March 2011
•13 hired June 2011

The said job order/contractual personnel were hired as program-based personnel and not just project-based. This simply means that the contribution of these personnel must not be measured at a project level but rather in their significant inputs to the overall health programs of DOH. In effect, they will be the critical mass to the Philippine’s “scores” in achieving Millennium Development Goals # 1, 4, 5 and 6 by the year 2015.

In the DOH organizational structure, NCDPC is under the Policy and Standards Development for Service Delivery Cluster. Policy and standards development in its real sense is not simply paper work. This requires validation of data, documentation of evidences and actual field experiences of health policy implementers, testing of strategies, validating correct target/s of health programs, motivating LGUs for its implementation, monitoring and evaluating results/impacts of DOH policies and standards, and documenting the findings to be used again as inputs for re-assessment of programs and reviewing/crafting policies. Below are the items of the job order/contractual personnel hired in NCDPC:

JOB POSITIONS                          Number of Personnel  Percentage
Nurses                                                        75                       46
Administrative Positions                               50                       30
Computer Programmers/Data Encoders       28                       17
Statisticians                                                   3                         2
Supervising Health Program Officers              2                         1
Data Controllers                                            2                         1
Transplant Coordinators                                2                         1
Dentist                                                          1                         0.5
Engineer                                                        1                        0.5
Lawyer                                                          1                        0.5
Cooperative Development Specialist I            1                        0.5
TOTAL                                                     166                    100

A group of contractual personnel was specially hire for the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) due to the peculiarity and uniqueness of this region such as the people’s culture and beliefs, geographical description, peace and order situation and its unique political set up.

The Cry for Justice

When the new Director, Dr. Lilibeth David assumed office in NCDPC last June 16, 2011, abrupt termination of service of all contractual personnel began. Last June 27, 2011, OIC-Undersecretary Assec. Gerardo Bayugo instructed the DOH Personnel Division to hold the processing of July-December 2011 contracts of job order/contractual personnel which was submitted to Personnel Division on June 8, 2011.

This was followed last June 30, 2011, at around 1:00 PM, by an instruction from Director Lilibeth David thru Ms. Vivencia Martinez and Ms. Luz See not to report the following day (July 1) on the premise that their contracts already ended. Everybody were shocked with this devastating advise.

At 5:00PM of the same day (June 30), it was followed by an issuance of a memorandum signed by Dr. Kenneth Ronquillo of HHRDB-DOH that all contractual personnel are “temporarily terminated” effective July 1, 2011 pending submission of full assessment of their job performance and review by the DOH Executive Committee. All these events occurred few hours before July 1, 2011.

What happened to the contracts they have signed with Dr. Eduardo C. Janairo (former Director IV of NCDPC) for the period July-December 2011? Where is the due process? Why is there not enough time to notify all contractual personnel?

At around 3:00 PM of July 4, 2011, Ms. Vivencia and Ms. See distributed Assessment Forms to some contractual personnel to be accomplished and submitted on or before 5:00PM of July 5, 2011. Apparently, the said assessments will justify the need to rehire contractual personnel.

However on July 6, 2011, the contractual personnel discovered other violations of their rights: (1) Dr. Kenneth Ronquillo of HHRDB-DOH allegedly issued the memorandum dated June 30, 2011 to end contracts of contractual personnel hired in 2010 and 2011 because of absence of performance evaluation. Dr. Ronquillo apparently is not aware that the contractual personnel have undergone performance evaluation from May 16 – 20, 2011. He also claimed that he did not receive the recommendations of Dr. Janairo to rehire all the contractual personnel for July-December 2011. (2) Dr. Ronquillo also claimed that he and OIC-Usec Gerardo Bayugo are not aware of the contracts signed between the contractual personnel (First Party) and Dr. Eduardo Janairo (Second Party) for the period July-December 2011.

These apathetic actions of the DOH Management is a clear manifestation of unfair labor practice and inhumane treatment of its own health personnel. It is not consistent with what DOH have been pronouncing in public that they are committed to save the lives of dying and sick Filipino people. In contrast, they have not been responsive to the plight of their own health employees.

NCDPC contractual personnel demand justice from DOH! Legal labor practices and human dignity must be recognized and respected!

To date, all job order/contractual personnel have not received any update on the result of the Performance Assessment which further aggravated and prolonged their agony while their families are continuously deprived of their basic survival needs. Is this the price the job order/contractual personnel have to pay after rendering services to the DOH?

Thus, the NCDPC contractual personnel call on DOH Secretary Enrique Ona for the following:

1. Immediate rehiring of all NCDPC contractual personnel in respect to the July-December 2011 which they have already signed;
2. Fast track all reimbursements of contractual personnel which they have incurred in the performance of their service in the field such as transportation expenses during the External Rapid Coverage Assessment (RCA) in relation to Measles-Rubella Campaign last June 13 – 30, 2011.
3. Timely release of salaries of contractual personnel; and
4. Provide compensation for the moral-emotional damages brought to contractual personnel and their families.