Senator Go to make every peso count for quality healthcare
Published Aug 8, 2019 03:52 pm
By Mario Casayuran
As chairman of the Senate health committee, neophyte Senator Christopher Lawrence ‘’Bong’’ Go said on Thursday he is keen on making sure that every peso the government spends is money well spent, stressing that quality Healthcare is a right of every Filipino.
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go (MALACAÑANG PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Go stressed this during the first organizational meeting of his committee that included a briefing on the country’s health situation and healthcare system attended by top officials of the Department of Health (DOH) led by Undersecretary Mario Villaverde and officials of PhilHealth.
Based on the Constitution, the House of Representatives has the first crack at looking and slashing or transferring budgets of one government agency to the other in the proposed 2020 P4.1 trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA or national budget) before it transmits its budget version to the Senate.
Go is expected to attend the public hearings on the proposed 2020 DOH budget.
He said the challenges presented and discussed during the hearing on Wednesday include the national dengue epidemic, immunization, failed distribution of expired and expiring medicines, and fraudulent claims involving the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) that ran into billions of pesos.
Go emphasized that healthcare “must be treated as an intrinsic right of our citizens, not a commodity,” referring to the high costs of hospitalization paid by Filipinos once they get admitted to a hospital or have consulted a doctor.
The neophyte senator said that for more than two decades as the aide of the former mayor and, now, President Duterte, he has "witnessed how the lack of access to affordable and quality healthcare brings a lot of pain and suffering to our countrymen."
He also emphasized that many Filipinos “have already resigned their fates to their illnesses because going to the hospital or the doctor is expensive and time consuming.”
He further stated that ensuring quality and affordable healthcare for every Filipino is also essential in preserving freedom, social justice and a healthy democracy.
This also explains why, according to Go, he had already filed bills that seek to make various government services and programs more affordable, accessible and convenient for the people and in making the government more responsive to their present needs.
He asked DOH officials to explain the current situation of the dengue epidemic in the country.
Go also inquired as to what steps the health department has undertaken and its future plans on how to address the issue.
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go (MALACAÑANG PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Go stressed this during the first organizational meeting of his committee that included a briefing on the country’s health situation and healthcare system attended by top officials of the Department of Health (DOH) led by Undersecretary Mario Villaverde and officials of PhilHealth.
Based on the Constitution, the House of Representatives has the first crack at looking and slashing or transferring budgets of one government agency to the other in the proposed 2020 P4.1 trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA or national budget) before it transmits its budget version to the Senate.
Go is expected to attend the public hearings on the proposed 2020 DOH budget.
He said the challenges presented and discussed during the hearing on Wednesday include the national dengue epidemic, immunization, failed distribution of expired and expiring medicines, and fraudulent claims involving the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) that ran into billions of pesos.
Go emphasized that healthcare “must be treated as an intrinsic right of our citizens, not a commodity,” referring to the high costs of hospitalization paid by Filipinos once they get admitted to a hospital or have consulted a doctor.
The neophyte senator said that for more than two decades as the aide of the former mayor and, now, President Duterte, he has "witnessed how the lack of access to affordable and quality healthcare brings a lot of pain and suffering to our countrymen."
He also emphasized that many Filipinos “have already resigned their fates to their illnesses because going to the hospital or the doctor is expensive and time consuming.”
He further stated that ensuring quality and affordable healthcare for every Filipino is also essential in preserving freedom, social justice and a healthy democracy.
This also explains why, according to Go, he had already filed bills that seek to make various government services and programs more affordable, accessible and convenient for the people and in making the government more responsive to their present needs.
He asked DOH officials to explain the current situation of the dengue epidemic in the country.
Go also inquired as to what steps the health department has undertaken and its future plans on how to address the issue.