Duterte to send DOH sec to Cuba to learn better health system

http://davaotoday.com/main/economy/health/duterte-to-send-doh-sec-to-cuba-to-learn-better-health-system/

DAVAO CITY – Newly-inaugurated President, Rodrigo Duterte, said that he is sending Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial to Cuba to learn how they are running their health service.

During his first meeting with the members of his Cabinet, Duterte said the Philippines could copy Cuba’s good practices in its welfare system as Filipinos continue to suffer from the inaccessible health care service.

Duterte cited the experience of doctors from the Philippine General Hospital who complained that they themselves would shell out money to help patients buy the medicines.

ref: http://davaotoday.com/main/economy/health/duterte-to-send-doh-sec-to-cuba-to-learn-better-health-system/

SONA: Grupo ng mga health worker, tutol sa Salary Standardization Law IV

Health Workers, holDAPed: Overworked, Underpaid Health Workers disgusted over PNoy’s DAP

PRESS RELEASE

July  14, 2014

References:

Bong Bulanadi, Tondo Medical Center Employees Association Vice President, 522-92-46

Gary Liberal, Jose Reyes Medical Center operating room nurse, Mobile No.09183104698

Jossel I Ebesate, AHW National President, Mobile No. 0918 927 6381

Public health workers hold a protest rally today, July 14 in front of the Department of Health (DOH) to condemn the department and the Aquino government for continuously neglecting government hospitals. Health workers, particularly nurses are growing tired of the government's failure to address the chronic understaffing in most government hospitals.

According to Mr. Bong Bulanadi, Tondo Medical Center Employees Vice President, "in Tondo Medical Center, nurses are obliged to go on 16-24 hours duty and nurse to patient ratio is 1:40-45 per shift, a severe understaffed working condition.  This is far from the Department of Health standard of nurse-patient ratio which is 1:12. In addition, salaries remain below the poverty threshold, while on the other hand, it frustrates us when we learn that the Aquino government is squandering billions in government money through Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP)."  He reiterated that the P157 Billion wasted on DAP is more than enough to address the chronic understaffed working condition in public hospitals.  “How can a nurse provide quality service to patients with this inhuman and degrading  condition?”, he added.

Aside from understaffed situation health workers also express their vehement opposition to the continuing privatization of government health facilities. “Health workers can not simply be bought by government's shallow reasoning that it can not afford to fund the improvement of the critical capacity of government health facilities without the infusion of private capital through Public-Private Partnership/privatization,”Jossel Ebesate, AHW president emphasized.  If government can unscrupulously spend billions from the said DAP fund, that money could have tripled the annual funding of all government health facilities, supplies and medicines which is sufficient enough to provide affordable or even free quality services to the people.

           Health workers feel that the current government is useless in addressing the people's health needs. They are calling for the resignation of Health Secretary Ona for his obvious failure to resolve the perennial health problems of the people and his pro-privatization stand. They also support the ouster of President Aquino and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio Abad for the lack of moral ascendancy to govern after their involvement in a billion peso DAP controversy and failure to resolve the rampant corruption in the government. According to Gary Liberal, Jose Reyes Medical Center nurse, "While billions of pesos have been wasted in bureaucratic corruption, millions of lives have been sacrificed needlessly due to lack of basic services". ###

Health Workers breach Malacanang security, hold protest against low salaries, benefits and privatization

PRESS RELEASE

May 20, 2014

References:

Ely Estropigan, All-UP Workers’ Union-UP-PGH President
Mobile no: 0921-4668183

Robert Mendoza, AHW Secretary-General
Mobile No.  0921-2073631

Around 40 health workers from different hospitals stormed Malacanang today amidst strict security in the vicinity.

Mostly wearing white gowns and hospital uniforms, the protesters composed of nurses, doctors and other health personnel waved banners and placards and chanted calls for salary increase and adequate health budget in front of Vargas Gate.

“We have had enough! Our patience and hopes have run out! The Aquino administration is never a government for the poor! He has done nothing to alleviate our suffering and is doing everything to privatize our hospitals!”said Ely Estropigan, president of All-UP Workers Union-UP-PGH Chapter.

Health workers claimed that President Benigno Aquino III failed the Filipino people by privatizing Philippine Orthopedic Center and other public hospitals, and attacking job security through streamlining, retrenchment and contractualization.

The protesters said that worse than the previous administrations, Aquino administration had not given any salary increase. Instead of providing for mandated Magna Carta benefits, it sowed intrigues and disunity among health workers through controversial Productivity-Based Bonus (PBB) and “high-risk-low risk” classification in hazard pay provision.

Police security officers and non-uniformed men forcibly pushed the protesters towards Chino Roces bridge. Malacanang security PO1 JS Aguilar under the command of P/Supt FM Opellano tried to seize Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) secretary-general Robert Mendoza even if the protesters were already at Mendiola.

A health student who joined the protest, Mark Neri, sustained abrasions in left hand.

“What kind of “protectors” will hurt and try to abduct us health workers who are saving peoples’ lives? What kind of government will hit female health workers with shields when we are just exercising our right to assemble and freedom of expression? They are protecting corrupt officials and Napoles, but not the Filipino people!” cried Mendoza.

The health workers peacefully dispersed after the program in Mendiola. #

Nurses unite! Struggle for rights and people’s right to health!

PRESS STATEMENT

May 12, 2014

Reference: Jossel I Ebesate

AHW National President

Mobile No. 0918 927 6381

Today, on the occasion of International Nurses’ Day, the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) -Philippines express our solidarity with the Filipino nurses and all nurses in the world who continue to offer their skills and knowledge in service of the people and stand up for people’s right to health amidst worsening economic and political crises and attacks on our rights.

As the national organization of health workers in the Philippines, we in AHW share the nurses’ dream of a united nurses and health care workers dedicated to providing services to those who need these most. We are one with the nurses and the people in our vision of a healthy society where the people and health workers are empowered and can contribute to health and development.

But we see that the people’s health situation is worsening as people’s health and interests are sacrificed in the name of profit and business interests.  We witness the suffering and deaths of many people who are impoverished, could not afford the increasing cost of public and private health care, and deprived of basic needs while those in power steal public funds, grab people’s lands and play puppet to foreign dictates. 

At the same time, we ourselves suffer from violation of our rights to jobs, living wage, benefits, and unionize. For instance, our fellow nurses in Tondo Medical Center go on duty for 16-32 hours. Nurses in government hospitals get a pay of P 18,549/month (Salary Grade 11), below the mandated Salary Grade 15 in Nursing Act of 2002 and way below the P30,000/month minimum cost of living in the NCR. Nurses in private hospitals and institutions suffer more with P6,000-P10,000 entry level monthly wages, without hazard pay and no job security. 

We realize that our commitment to serve the people is never easy when the situation that breeds poverty and ill-health continues to exist. We cannot fully save lives when lack of personnel, supplies, equipment and facilities, and poor governance ail our public health care system.   We cannot provide adequate and quality health services when our ranks need deliverance from chronic understaffing, contractualization, low and subhuman wages, poor working conditions, harassments and violation of rights. We cannot dream of better health for the people as long as the government privatizes public hospitals and health care, takes away whatever little free services the poor people receive and threatens to dislocate the poor patients and health workers.

We see that our duty to serve the people goes beyond learning the most advanced technologies and equipment in health care or reaching unreachable health statistics targets. As nurses of the people, we are duty-bound to work with the people, start where they are, uphold their interests alongside with our interests, and stand up for rights and justice.  Our duty brings us on the side of our patients and the people against threats to health and our rights, like privatization, fee for service, contractualization and streamlining, wage freeze, unreasonable power and water rates hike.  Our duty necessitates that we struggle together with our patients and the people for free, affordable, and accessible health care towards a society freed from local and foreign domination, oppression and exploitation.

This day and the days and years to come, we call on all Filipino nurses to serve the people and uphold our rights and people’s right to health, like Florence Nightingale and our own Filipino nurse-heroes like Nazaria Lagos (1851-1945), Minda Luz Quesada (1937-1995), and Mary Vita Jackson, who served the people and fellow health care workers inspite of risks and hardships. Let us stand up, unite with fellow health workers and the Filipino people, and together work for genuine societal change. # 

Mayo 7: Singilin ang Pamahalaang Aquino, Ipagpatuloy ang 30 taong pakikibaka para sa Kalusugan at Karapatan!

Pambansang Araw ng mga Manggagawang Pangkalusugan ngayon. Kasabay ng paggunita sa mga tagumpay at aral sa 30 taong pakikibaka ng Alliance of Health Workers,  papanagutin natin ang Pamahalaang Aquino sa patuloy na pag-abandona sa kalusugan ng mamamayan at karapatan ng manggagawang pangkalusugan!

Itaguyod natin at ipaglaban ang mga tagumpay sa loob ng 30 taong pakikibaka ng AHW mula nang itatag ito noong 1984. Sa pamamagitan ng sama-samang pagkilos, naipagtagumpay natin ang:

Ø  Dagdag na sweldo mula pa 1980’s, ngunit nananatiling kakarampot at di nakabubuhay ang sweldong ibinibigay ng Pamahalaang Aquino;

Ø  Pagsasabatas ng Magna Carta of Public Health Workers (RA 7305) na batayan ng mga benepisyong hazard pay, subsistence allowance, laundry pay, longevity allowance; bagamat paulit-ulit itong binabawi ng pamahalaan, sa pinakahuli sa klasipikasyong high risk-low risk sa pamamagitan ng DBM-DOH Joint Circular No 1; 

Ø  Pagpapatalsik sa kurakot, kontra-manggagawa at kontra-pasyenteng mga hospital direktor noong 1980’s hanggang 1990’s;

Ø  Paglaban sa tanggalan/streamlining – sa dalawang pagkakataon ng reorganissyon/tanggalan, nagawang mapanatili ang ilang daang libong mga posisyon at naisabatas ang RA 6655 na nagseseguro sa security of tenure ng mga kawani sa pamahalaan. Pero tinutuloy ng Pamahalaang Aquino ang streamlining tungo sa kontraktwalisasyon sa pammaagitan ng EO 366 /Rationalization Plan na basehan ng New Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern sa mga pampublikong ospital;

Ø  Paglaban sa pribatisasyon ng mga pampublikong ospital  – tagumpay na napatigil noong 1997 ngunit walang habas na itinutuloy muli ni Panguong Aquino sa PPP ng Philippine Orthopedic Hospital at 72 hospitals sa buong bansa, korporatsoasyon at iba pang porma; at

Ø  Pagtataguyod sa karapatan sa pag-uunyon, Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA), pagpapahayag at paglulunsad ng kilos-protesta.

Walang makabuluhang napagbabago sa kalagayan ng mga manggagagawang pangkalusugan at mamamayan sa ilalim ng Administrasyong Aquino. Nagpapalit-palit ang mga pangulo ngunit kagaya ng mga naunang rehimen, itinutuloy ng Pamahalaang Aquino ang  kontra-mamamayan at kontra-manggagawang polisiyang papaliit na badyet para sa kagalingan ng mamamayan, streamlining at kontraktwalisasyon, pribatisasyon, mababang sahod at kulang na benepisyo.

Pinatunayan ng Pamahalaang Aquino ang pagiging sunud-sunuran sa dikta ng panginoong maylupa, burgesya komprador at monopolyo kapitalistang Estados Unidos. Tanging mga local at dayuhang burgesya at monopolyo kapitalista ang nakikinabang sa programang Kalusugang Pangkalahatan na nakapadron sa Obama Care. Sa Two-tiered Wage System lalong ipapako sa napakababang sahod ang mga manggagawa samantalang wala ni singkong dagadag sa sweldo na ibingay ang administrasyong Aquino sa mga kawani ng pamahalaan at manggagawang pangkalusugan.  Nitong Abril pinagkasunduan ni Pangulong Aquino at US President Barrack Obama ang Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) na magbabalik sa base-militar ng Estados Unidos sa bansa, sa kabila ng pagtututol ng mamamayan batay sa unconstitutionality, mapait na mga karanasan ng paglabag sa karapatan ng tropang Amerikano, at pagyurak sa soberanya ng bansa.

Walang ibang pagpipilian ang manggagawang pangkalusugan at mamamayan kundi palakasin ang hanay at ipagpatuloy ang laban para sa ating karapatan bilang manggagawang pangkalusugan at karapatan ng mamamayan sa kalusugan. Tanging sa sama-samang pagkilos lamang natin malalabanan ang kontra-mamamayang polisiya at maitatayo ang isang sistemang pangkalusugang tunay na  magsisilbi sa mamamayan at manggagawang pangkalusugan.

Singilin ang Pamahalaang Aquino sa pag-abandona sa kanyang responsibilidad sa mamamayan at  mga manggagawang pangkalusugan!

Ipagpatuloy  ang 30 taong pakikibaka ng mga manggagawang pangkalusugan para pang-ekonomiya, demokratiko at pampulitikang karapatan at kalusugan ng mamamayan!

Health workers, patients, seek high court intervention to stop privatization of Orthopedic Hospital

PRESS RELEASE

February 3, 2014

References: Sean Herbert Velchez, RN, NOHWU-AHW President, 0949-9775037

Jossel Ebesate, RN, AHW National President, 0918-9276381      

  

Health workers, patients and people's health advocates from Philippine Orthopedic Center and other hospitals and institutions filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition today in the Supreme Court in a bid to stop the privatization of the only government orthopedic hospital in the country.

"President Benigno Aquino IIII and Department of Health Secretary Enrique Ona are deaf to the peoples' clamor to stop privatization. We hope the Supreme Court justices will have the heart and mind to listen and consider the people's health and welfare," said Sean Velchez, president of National Orthopedic Hospital Workers' Union - Alliance of Health Workers (NOHWU-AHW), and one of the petitioners in the case.

The petitioners raised the questions of constitutionality, procedural concerns and negative effects to poor patients and health workers of the privatization of POC.

“This is a fight not only by POC health workers and patients but by the entire Filipino people. This is a fight for our right to health,” said Jossel Ebesate, national president of Alliance of Health Workers and a chief nurse in the Philippine General Hospital.

Atty. Edre Olalia, chief legal counsel for the petitioners and secretary-general of the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) said that it is high time that people's health be taken up as a demandable right in our justice system. The counsels took inspiration from retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno's statement in July that socio-economic rights like housing and health are justiciable rights.

Aside from Velchez and Ebesate, the petitioners also include, among others, patients from POC,  Dr. Amelia Maglacas, former World Health Organization (WHO) nurse-scientist,  Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna PartyList, Representative Terry Ridon of Kabataan PartyList, Dr. Fresco Yapendon of Philippine Association of Medical Specialists, Dr. Joseph Carabeo of Community Medicine Development Foundation, and Eleanor Nolasco of Nars ng Bayan.

The group vowed to continue their protest against the privatization of POC and other public hospitals and health services. #

Suportahan ang kaso sa Korte Suprema laban sa pribatisasyon ng Orthopedic Hospital! Labanan ang pribatisasyon

Ngayong Lunes, ika-3 ng Pebrero 2014, isasampa sa Korte Suprema ang petisyon ng mga manggagawang pangkalusugan, pasyente, mga kinatawan ng iba’t ibang organisasyon sa kalusugan at komunidad laban sa pribatisasyon ng Philippine Orthopedic Center.

Bulag, bingi, at manhid ang Pamahalaang Benigno Aquino III, at Department of Health Secretary Enrique Ona sa malawak na panawagan ng mamamayan sa pagbasura ng pribatisasyon ng POC at pampublikong serbisyong pangkalusugan. Rurok ng kawalang puso nang aprubahan ni Pangulong Aquino ang proyektong Public-Private Partnership ng POC noong Nobyembre 21 sa kasagsagan ng relief operation para sa mga survivors ng Bagyong Yolanda. Disyembre 6, inilabas ng DOH ang pormal na notice of award sa Megawide-World Citi Consortium para sa 25 taong pagtatayo at pagpapatakbo ng bagong Orthopedic Hospital.

Negosyo ang nasa likod ng pribatisasyon ng POC. Sa loob ng 25 taon, na maaaring maging 50 taon, pagkakakitaan at pagtutubuan ng pribadong Megawide-World Citi Consortium ang Orthopedic Hospital. Madidisplace ang libu-libong mahihirap na pasyente at manggagawang pangkalusugan ng POC.

Taliwas sa ipinagyayabang ng DOH at Pamahalaang Aquino na para sa mahihirap ang bagong Orthopedic Hospital, 70 lamang na kama ang nakalaan sa mahihirap na pasyente, kumpara sa 560-630 bilang ng mahihirap na in-patients sa POC ngayon. 80-90% ng halos 200,000 pasyente ng POC noong taong 2010 ay mahihirap.

Nanganganib ang kaseguruhan sa trabaho at karapatan ng mahigit 900 manggagawang pangkalusugan sa POC dahil ang pribadong investor ang mamimili at kukuha ng empleyado at hindi obligadong kilalanin ang kasalukuyang union ng mga manggagawa.

Kapag napatupad ang pribatisasyon ng POC, hudyat ito ng tuluy-tuloy at lubusang pribatisasyon ng iba pang pampublikong ospital at ng pampublikong serbisyong pangkalusugan. Krisis pangkalusugan ang hahantungan nito dahil wala nang tatakbuhan ang mahihirap na pasyente.

Huwag tayong magsawalang-kibo!  Huwag nating hintaying lubusang mawala ang kakaunting libreng serbisyong nakukuha natin sa mga pampublikong pagamutan. Responsibilidad ng pamahalaan ang pagbibigay ng libre hanggang abot-kaya, kumprehensibo at de-kalidad na serbisyong pangkalusugan.  Buwis mula sa pawis at dugo ng mamamayang naghihikahos ang nagpapatakbo sa mga pampublikong ospital at sa pamahalaan, kaya dapat lamang na maibigay ng gubyerno ang libreng serbisyong nakalaan sa mamamayan!

Ipaglaban ang karapatan sa kalusugan!

Health Workers to the UN: Be a true instrument to end social injustice, and attain health for all

Press Release
17 September 2013

Reference:

Mr. Jossel I. Ebesate, RN

National President

Alliance of Health Workers

Philippines

Contact No: +63-918-9276381

Today, September 17, 2013, marks the opening of the 68^th Annual session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly where 193 member countries meet “to discuss the steps necessary to improve issues of people everywhere” and at a time when there is widespread and deepening social ills and injustices.

For 68 years, these world leaders who compose this deliberative policy making and organ representative of the United  Nations gather once a year to discuss vital  issues such as poverty, peace, security, human rights, health and disease, inequality and environment”. At this time, world economic  crisis has worsened and health and health care have been directed more by economic policies which are geared towards profit generation.

 The Alliance of Health Workers in solidarity with the Global Nurses United's Global Day of Action, condemns the worsening Philippine health situation brought about by government policies which make the delivery of health services more inaccessible and anti-people. The Aquino government remained numb to the people’s protests against its centerpiece program - the Public Private Partnership including the delivery of health services which essentially privatizes public hospitals and public health services.  This further deprives the poor of the much needed services. The privatization of health has began during the Marcos era and has continued throughout the years, with the Philippine governments having the same template though with different names. Now the Aquino’s Universal Health Care is composed of strategies of health insurance and privatization of public hospitals and other health services. This is nothing but a final step towards the abandonment of state responsibility for people’s health.

With this profit- orientation, it follows that the health workers’ working conditions, wages and benefits have gone from bad to worst. The nurses and health workers suffer from long hours of duty and unjust work overload. The nurse to patient ratio is in average of 1 nurse to 30-40 patients in medical or surgical wards or even up to 100-250 patients in psychiatric wards. There is severe understaffing, with one health worker – a utility worker (UW) covering 2-3 wards, which normally should be covered by 3-6 UWs.  The contractualization, in various forms, which violates the right of any health worker to his/her right to security of tenure, just compensation and benefits, has been a national phenomenon. There are government nurses who are under “job orders” for 3-5 years or has been “casual employees” for 20 years.

“The World Health Organization, as  the trusted authority in directing and coordinating health issues within the United Nations' structure (WHO), should assist developing countries like the Philippines in “attaining the highest possible level of health” through programs which are appropriate and relevant. Like the Health for All by the year 2000, the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) of the UN together with the IMF-WB, which are said to be a set of development targets for the poor by 2015, is most likely to fail. With less than 1000 days to go, the goal to reduce maternal mortality for example, is very far from the target of 52 per 100,000/live births.

Considering that policies and programs imposed by international financial institutions, i.e. IMF/WB/ADB, are primarily geared for the benefits of big business rather than real development of the people, the Filipinos and other developing countries can never have a healthy living with the worsening economic and political situation that further deprived of them of their right to health. The top down approach to “development” as viewed by big business and being promoted and implemented by international financial institutions, and also transcends to multilateral agencies like the UN and WHO, is further compounded at the national level by national and local politicians who viewed government as a business, where they could amass power and wealth as exemplified by the “P10B Napoles scandal”, at the expense direct services to the people.

Thus, we, the health workers who are witnesses to the daily sufferings of the Filipino people due to social injustice including extreme poverty,  lack of health services, unemployment and lack of basic housing, call on the WHO and the United Nations to stand side by side with the people.  It is not enough to diagnose poverty and prescribe goals and programs for developing countries like the Philippines. The United Nations should truly be an instrument to help end social injustice and uplift the people’s conditions of misery, deprivation and exploitation. Health, being a basic right should never be used for profit and should remain mainly as a state responsibility.

Hospital workers: too much "pork" is unhealthy; abolish pork barrel system, re-channel funds to public health services

Press Release
September 6, 2013

References:

Mr. Eliazar Sobinsky
President, LCPEA-AHW
Contact No: 0932-859-7665
Mr. Bonifacio Carmona
President, PHCEA-AHW
Contact No: 0908-896-0094
Mr. Joey Espanillo
President, NKTIEA-AHW
Contact No: 0917-552-3490

Reminding the public that too much "pork" is unhealthy, hospital workers from Philippine Heart Center (PHC), Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) and National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) called for the abolition of pork barrel system including the presidential "pork" in favor of people's health.

"Enough of the pork barrel system! We have had enough of the Aquino government's and Department of Health's lies that there is not enough funds for services!" said Eliazar Sobinsky, president of LCP Employees' Association - Alliance of Health Workers (LCPEA-AHW), in a protest action by hospital workers in front of LCP in Quezon City. 

Sobinksy claimed that the P10B-worth pork barrel scam could have covered the operation of 50,000 service or indigent patients with lung problems, at P200,000 cost per operation. Yet the government is only allotting P173.4M as subsidy for LCP 's indigent patients - an amount even less than a senator's pork barrel in a year. Worse, LCP will be given the same measly amount or no increase at all in the proposed health budget for 2014.

"For heart's sake, President Aquino should truly stand against "pork"! He should start abolishing his own pork and rechannel this to public hospitals. President Aquino should see the poor cardiac patients of PHC who are dying because they do not have money for the operation," said Bonifacio Carmona, president of Philippine Heart Center Employees' Association - Alliance of Health Workers (PHCEA-AHW), and member of AHW national council.

Poor patients in PHC are required to raise tens of thousands to about a hundred thousand as "patient's share" for the operation. Each heart operation costs P350,000 - 600,000.

National Kidney and Transplant Institute Employees' Association (NKTIEA-AHW) president Joey Espanillo said, "we call for the immediate abolition of "pork" barrel system, so we can save more patients' lives, especially those of poor patients with end kidney diseases." 

Espanillo said that dialysis for charity kidney patients are charged P5,000-10,000 per week, or P480,000 per year. Directly funding NKTI poor patients from just a portion of the P24B pork barrel allotment in 2014 can already pay for the dialysis of thousands of patients. Sadly, NKTI subsidy for indigent patients will be cut by 6.8% on 2014, from P202.865M this year to P189M.

"The fight against pork barrel system is a fight for our patients' health and lives. As frontliners in health services, we stand with our poor patients and the Filipino people in the fight against pork barrel system and for adequate budget for public health services," concluded Carmona.#

Health Workers to DOH: You will find the poor in public hospitals, not at the ivory tower of profit-driven health care

Statement

We from the Alliance of Health Workers are alarmed at the news article titled "DOH: where are the poor?" (PDI, 8/1/2013).

It is incomprehensible that the DOH "could not locate the addresses of the poor in order to deliver their PhilHealth cards..." while the government is proposing P35B for the premium of PhilHealth sponsored members for 2014, a whooping 180% increase from P12.6B allotted in 2013.

The P35 million subsidy targets only the “selected poorest of the poor” by the government’s standard, or those earning below the P52 daily or Php7,821 monthly poverty threshold for a family of five (NSCB, April 2013). This practically leaves all other poor Filipinos. By IBON Databank estimates, poor Filipinos would number some 38-68 million (IBON, July 2013) or 41-73% of the 92 million estimated population in 2012, way above the 26.8 million poor Filipinos by NSCB standard. 

The proposed P35B for PhilHealth subsidy is more than three times the total budget allotment for the 70 DOH-retained hospitals in 2013. Instead of looking for the “poor” through “mapping” or any other complicated methodologies the government could just put this huge amount to the severely underfunded government hospitals, health units and stations, where poor patients go for treatment.  This could make a big difference in the availability of medicines, supplies and equipment badly needed by the poor patients.

The poor are really not difficult to find, if the government and DOH would only go beyond their showcase of private investors-propelled "improvement" of public hospitals and facilities through privatization. If only Secretary Ona and the Aquino administration would go down to the communities and public hospitals and health facilities, and see and feel for themselves the actual situation, they would not only see the poor, they would also realize how irrelevant and how dangerous their health privatization programs are to the health and lives of the poor Filipinos.

Reference:

Mr..Jossel I. Ebesate, RN

National President

Alliance of Health Workers

09189276381

Health Workers to DOH: Stop deceiving the public, stop privatization of public hospitals

Press Statement

July 27, 2013

Reference:

Mr. Jossel I. Ebesate, RN

Contact No: 09189276381

The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) told the Department of Health (DOH) to stop deceiving the public in pursuing public-private partnership (PPP) of public hospitals and health services.

“PPP, modernization, or whatever the DOH calls it, the fact is, the government is allowing private investors to profit from health service provision in public hospitals. Public health service provision is the duty of the government,” said Jossel Ebesate, national president of the Alliance of Health Workers.

Ebesate reacted to the statement of DOH Secretary Enrique Ona on Friday, July 26, that the DOH  was “not in favor of privatization”.

 

Ebesate stressed that if indeed the government is indeed not for privatization it should have funded the modernization and improvement of public hospital facilities years ago, instead of passing this role to profiteering private investors. He said that since 1990s, the government through the DOH has been trying to privatize hospitals to cover up for its failure to adequately fund public hospitals and provide for accessible health services to the people.

“The DOH through the years is just changing the terms and packaging, but it is the same privatization policy pushed by the previous administrations.

“Once private investors are allowed into social services like health, whether through PPP, corporatization, or outright sale, the primary purpose is huge profit generation, thus replacing service orientation. This has been proven time and again, most recently with the dramatic increases in water bills as result of privatization of water services,” said Ebesate.

“The DOH is doing a disservice to the Filipino people by consciously making it appear that PPP will benefit the people. The poor people’s experiences in public hospitals up for privatization prove otherwise. Based on our experience in most public hospitals, PPP of selected services only jacked up the price of health services at the expense of our poor patients,” Ebesate, explained.

Ebesate said that Secretary Enrique Ona was further confusing the public by lumping up medical mission initiatives with privatization of health services. #

Closure of Manila’s City Hospitals Will Hurt the Poor

PRESS STATEMENT

July 19, 2013

Reference:

Mr. Jossel I. Ebesate

National President, AHW

Mobile No: 09189276381 

We, health workers in different hospitals under the Alliance of Health Workers, oppose the plan of Mayor Joseph Estrada to close some city hospitals “to lower government expenses and save money.”

The idea to close city hospitals as expressed two Fridays ago (July 5) by the mayor of Manila,  is cruel and heartless. This will negatively affect many poor patients in Manila who rely on these hospitals for services. The six city hospitals, namely Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center, Ospital ng Maynila, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Ospital ng Tondo, Sta. Ana Hospital, and Justice Abad Santos Mother and Child Hospital serve those who cannot afford expensive private health services. Ospital ng Maynila, for instance,  serves more than a thousand out-patients per day and accommodates more than 300 in-patients during peak seasons even if its bed capacity is only 300.

If any of this city hospitals will be closed, residents who usually lacks or even have no means to provide for their basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter  would further delay or worst stop seeking treatment.  This may spell the difference between life and death for most patients.

Closing any of the city hospitals would further add up to the long queue and overcrowding in public hospitals under the national government in the city such as the Philippine General Hospital, Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital and San Lazaro Hospital.

This dismal situation in terms of funding, staffing and infrastructure of public hospitals is brought about by the continuing neglect and misprioritization by the national government in the national budget.  Instead of addressing the grave lack of funds, the national government devolved and privatized health services to the detriment of the public.

Public hospitals are built primarily to serve the public.  The government, both at the national and local level, is duty-bound to ensure that free, affordable, and accessible public health services are provided to the people. Public hospitals should be improved and developed by the government to better serve the people.

Adequate funding, not closure, will make our public hospitals more relevant and responsive to the needs of the people. Unless the national  or the local government has the political will to really serve the people through adequate, free, affordable and accessible health services, health for all will remain as it is - a dream.#

UP Kilos Na Condemns the Imposition of Charges on Previously Free Laboratory Procedures for Class D Patients of the Philippine General Hospital

July 16, 2013

UP Kilos Na supports the All-UP Workers Alliance and the Alliance of Health Workers in condemning the imposition of charges on previously free laboratory procedures for Class D patients of PGH and for adding new requirements to avail for free of succeeding examinations previously availed of free of charge. These changes are contained in the July 4, 2013 Memorandum of PGH Director Jose C. Gonzales with the subject: “Revised Rates of the Department of Laboratories.”

The memo details the “revised rates” for laboratory exams in PGH starting July 12, 2013. Prior to this issuance of the memorandum, 192 of 254 laboratory procedures/examinations were free for Class D patients of PGH. Now with the new policy, only 44 are free for the FIRST examinations. Payment for the succeeding examinations “maybe (underscoring ours) waived upon the recommendation of the Department Chair and the submission of the following documents for the purpose of requesting for a guarantee letter:

1. Clinical Abstract with a therapeutic plan and approximate cost of treatment
2. Personal letter of the patient or family to the congressman of his/her place of residence requesting for financial assistance. “

Class D patients in PGH are those whose monthly income is around or below the National Capital Region minimum wage rate.  Also included in Class D are those who are recent victims of fire, floods and other natural disaster and patients with chronic debilitating disease or catastrophic illness. In PGH’s charity wards and charity ICU, almost 98% of the patients are Class D.

PGH has already a system for the processing of a Class D category which is handled by its Medical Social Services Department (MSSD). It already takes a tremendous amount of time to line up for the various requirements to prove one’s abject poverty and to be categorized as Class D patient in PGH. The policy related to changes in the laboratory fees of PGH as contained in the memo clearly makes it more difficult for the poor to access the services of the PGH. This new policy will further add to the travails of our poor: request for reconsideration from the Chair of a PGH Department and a letter for financial assistance from the congressman or representative of his/her province.

The reduction of the number of free laboratory examinations for Class D patients and the additional requirements to avail of free service for succeeding examinations are being implemented at a time when the allocation for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of PGH has increased from P305.549 million in 2012 to over twice that amount to P616.903 million for 2013! This budget increase is partly due to the strong public support for the call and mobilization of the UP community for greater state subsidy for UP and PGH.

UP Kilos Na supported in 2010 the fight of Dr. Gonzales against his unjust ouster as PGH Director by the Roman Administration. The issue was principally against the violation of the principles of democratic governance of the Roman administration for unseating Dr. Gonzales who was democratically elected by the BOR and who had already taken his oath of office as Director. But UP Kilos Na support for Dr. Gonzales was his stand against the setting up of a private medical laboratory in the guise of providing clinics for PGH doctors inside the PGH compound.

In 2010, when a forum was held at the Philippine General Hospital on the proposed transformation of FMAB into a private facility run by the Daniel Mercado Medical Center, Dr. Jose Gonzales, then not holding any administrative position spoke against such move. A report by Krizia C. Borromeo of that meeting posted on September 28, 2010 on the MEDICS, the official student publication of the UP College of Medicine (http://www.upmedics.com/2010/09/pgh-privatization-will-fmab-bring-more.html, accessed 15 July 2013) quoted Dr. Gonzales as saying that “PGH is a service hospital for economically depressed patients who can’t afford to see private doctors.” Further, he is quoted as saying “May karapatan ang mahihirap. We should do our part to serve the people..kung hindi walang mangyayari. The public-private partnership will not solve the root cause of the problem—inefficiency.”

But now PGH Director Jose C. Gonzales considers free laboratory services to the poor inefficient and under the guise of “rationalization” and “efficiency” has in fact imposed charges on previously free availment of procedures and added bureaucratic layers to the process. While ostensibly this new policy is supposed to discourage PGH doctors from ordering unnecessary laboratory procedures for poor patients, it has in fact further shifted the burden to the poor patients who now have to pay or to beg for a waiver from the Department Chair. The memo came out in inopportune time when health inequalities in our society are becoming more blatant. The new policy only worsened the already unhealthy state of many of our society’s poor population, and trounced their right to health. Coupled with the increase in charges in the pay wards and private rooms of PGH, the “ospital ng bayan” is now trodding the path of private hospitals which are profit centers with charity patients.

UP Kilos Na condemns this betrayal of PGH Director Jose C. Gonzales of his promise to make PGH more accessible to the poor; to find ways to reduce the long lines faced by poor patients seeking PGH’s services and to stand up against commercialization of PGH such as the FMAB scheme of the previous PGH Administration. Instead under the guise of rationalization, increasing efficiency and preventing superfluous orders for laboratory examinations, he is now implementing a scheme of requiring poor patients to pay. Rather squeezing the poor of every ounce to recover costs, health care should be given to them for free! The brunt of state abandonment of our health care and services must not be passed on to the poor.

UP Kilos Na therefore urges PGH Director Jose C. Gonzales to rescind this discriminatory anti-poor policy. We call on administrators, faculty, and staff of PGH to forge strong solidarity with other progressive sectors of our society to clamor for higher health budget! Together we should stand to arrest the deteriorating health of our health services! The duty of health professionals is not just to save lives but to prevent the subjection of lives to contrived unhealthy and dehumanizing conditions!  

Health groups negotiate with DOH; protest the privatization of public hospitals

Press Release
July 15, 2013

References:

Dr. Julie Caguiat, NOP convenor, 0946-2278218

Mr. Jossel Ebesate, RN, AHW National President, 0918-9276381

Health workers, practitioners and community organizations under the Network Opposed to Privatization of Health Services (NOP) formally sought negotiations with Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Enrique Ona today to stop the privatization of public hospitals.

"This is not the first time we speak out against privatization of public hospitals. Still we are hoping DOH Secretary Ona will hear us out, in behalf of all the poor Filipino patients who are depending on our public hospitals for treatment. This is all about the health and lives of our people. We cannot just give up with this fight," said Dr. Julie Caguiat, convenor of NOP and Executive Director of Community Medicine Development Foundation.

Among those projects being protested by the group include the public-private partnership of Philippine Orthopedic Center, the sale of National Center for Mental Health, the proposed PPP projects in different hospitals nationwide, and corporatization of hospitals. The groups also raised questions on the proposed modern hospital complex in the DOH compound that will transfer the Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, and supposedly "modernize" Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, and San Lazaro Hospital.

"We are for the improvement and development of public hospitals and health facilities, but this should be done by the government itself and be geared towards providing free, accessible and affordable health services especially for the poor.

“The Aquino government’s highly touted PPP program for public hospitals, which is just a sanitized name for privatization, is anathema and an abandonment of the government’s constitutional mandate to protect and promote the people’s right to health. The interest for insatiable profits by big business is in contradiction to the very essence of existence of public hospitals, which is to provide quality, affordable and accessible health services for all the people," said Jossel Ebesate, national president of Alliance of Health Workers.

Anti-privatization groups raised concerns that the entry of private investors in public hospitals and health services will further raise the cost of health services in public hospitals and displace poor patients.

“By letting private corporations take over public hospitals’ operations in the guise of “modernization, efficiency, and financial viability”, the government in effect has made profit instead of service as its priority. The much-touted Philhealth subsidy for the people cannot replace the state- run public health facilities and services,” Dr. Caguiat said.

Aside from NOP, other groups expressed opposition against the privatization of public hospitals and health services, including urban poor, workers, women, and most recently the church groups.#

Global Nurses United of Nurse, Healthcare Worker Unions was Born

Global Nurses United

For Immediate Release

References:

Mr. Kenneth S. Zinn

Political Director

National Nurses United

8630 Fenton Street

Suite 1100

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

United States

Email: kzinn@nationalnursesunited.org

Tel: +1-(240) 235-2008

Fax: +1-(240) 235-2019

For the Philippines:

Mr. Jossel I. Ebesate, RN

National President

Alliance of Health Workers

Mobile:

Phils: +63-918-927-6381

US: +1-415-837-8154

Email: jiebesate@yahoo.com

Aims to Step Up Fight against Austerity, Privatization, Attacks on Public Health

And Work for Safe Nurse Staffing Ratios and Improved Patient Care for All

SAN FRANCISCO – Leaders of the premiere nurses and health care workers unions in 14 nations in the Americas, Asia, and Europe have announced plans to form a new international organization to step up the fight against the harmful effects of austerity measures, privatization, and cuts in health care services that they say are putting people and communities at risk across the planet.

Calling the new formation Global Nurses United, leaders of the initial endorsing countries said they would also work collectively to guarantee the highest standards of universal healthcare as a human right for all, to secure safe patient care, especially with safe nurse-to-patient ratios, and safe health care workplaces.

Endorsers of the San Francisco declaration included top nurse and health care worker unions from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States.

Leaders of the newly formed Global Nurses United

Pledging to work “together with all health care workers and other people committed to economic and social justice,” the leaders of Global Nurses United said they are also unified in opposition to the adverse effects of income inequality, poverty, mal distribution of wealth and resources, attacks on public workers, and the ravages of climate change.

As participants noted, there are international union formations of other sectors ranging from teachers to steel workers.  Now nurses have one as well, said enthusiastic GNU participants.

The founding meeting was hosted by National Nurses United, the largest U.S. union and organization of nurses, and chaired by NNU’s executive director RoseAnn DeMoro. “The unity and determination of nurse and healthcare worker unions to come together and push to protect all our people is a profound expression of how deeply the neoliberal agenda is coordinating and devastating countries and lowering standards worldwide,” DeMoro said.

"The trend of governments abdicating its inherent responsibility of providing basic services such as health care to its people in favor of big profits by big business must be stopped. It is now time that we, the health care workers all over the world, take the initiative and unite with all sectors of society in fighting against the anti-people neoliberal policy of privatization of health care.  Privatization kills people in the name of profits, it is in fact anathema to service to the people" said Mr. Jossel Ebesate, a delegate from the Philippines, and National President of Alliance of Health Workers in the Philippines.    

Taking action, the unions said, will be a major focus of Global Nurses United. GNU members said they will kick off the new organization with a series of protests in every member nation in September coinciding with the opening of the next session of the United Nations General Assembly. The focus of the actions will likely be austerity, privatization of health and other public services, and other attacks on health services, with specific actions and targets tailed to national priorities.

In the initial meeting June 22, participants in nearly every country described similar crises of erosion of health and other basic services and public protections, attacks on the rights, living standards, and even personal security of nurses and other workers.

In every nation the workers are in motion, challenging austerity measures imposed by conservative governments or globalized corporate assaults, with strikes and other major protests. With Global Nurses United, the unions said they will be able to better coordinate such actions, provide international solidarity, and offer each other support and assistance.

As the participants said in their opening declaration, “We, the leaders of international nurses and healthcare unions affirm our intention to work collectively to protect our professions, our patients, our communities, our work, our health, our environment, and our planet.”

Representatives of the following unions participating in the initial GNU meeting:

Argentina –  FESPROSA

Australia – Australian Nursing Federation, ANF Victoria Branch, New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association, Queensland Nurses Union

Brazil – Sindicato dos Enfermeiros, Sindicato dos Enfermeiros of São Paulo

Canada – Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, United Nurses of Alberta, Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec

Costa Rica – Associacion Nacional de Profesionalies en Enfermeria

Dominican Republic – Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de Enfermeria

Guatemala – Sindicato Nacional de los Trabadores de Salud de Guatemala

Honduras – Asociation Nacional de Enfermeras/os Auxiliares de Honduras

Ireland – Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation
Israel – National Association of Nurse

Philippines – Alliance of Health Workers

South Africa – Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa

South Korea – Korean Health and Medical Workers Union,  Catholic Medical Center Local Union, Korean Health and Medical Workers Union

United States – National Nurses United