P100M earmarked for fight vs. polio
Published Sep 26, 2019 06:54 pm
By Ellson Quismorio
House Appropriations Committee chairman, Davao 3rd district Rep. Isidro Ungab confirmed Thursday that the Department of Health's (DOH) proposed budget for 2020 will be hiked by P200 million, half of which would be used to boost the campaign against polio.
Davao City 3rd district Rep. Isidro Ungab
(HOR / MANILA BULLETIN) "The DOH budget is augmented by P200 million only, to be distributed as follows: P100 million for the additional MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses) of the National Center for Mental Health and P100 million for Quick Response Fund or QRF," he said in a text message to reporters. Asked if additional funds for anti-poliovirus efforts would be taken from the QRF, Ungab said: "Yes pwede kunin sa QRF (Yes we can get it from the QRF)." These statements from the House leader served as a denial to earlier reports that up to P250 million would be realigned to the DOH solely for the fight against polio. The Philippines is currently in the middle of a polio scare after the deadly disease reemerged through the case of a three-year-old girl in Lanao del Sur--the first since the country was declared polio-free in October 2000. However, it was 1993 when the last confirmed local case of polio was recorded. The recent polio case has since been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as vaccine-derived and not from wild poliovirus, thus allowing the Philippines to keep its polio-free status, for now. For next year, the DOH has a proposed budget of P88 billion, down from its 2019 appropriation of P98.6 billion. "There will be an additional amount of P500 million for the Hospital Services Program of UP-PGH (Philippine General Hospital) for the provision of its medical services," Ungab added. "We confirm that this augmented amount will be sourced from the allocated budget for SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) and Barangay Elections," the Mindanao solon further said. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano bared last week that the next village and youth polls, originally scheduled for May 2020, has a budget allocation P5 billion. The Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms approved the proposed postponement of the polls to May 2023 earlier this week. Deputy Majority Leader, Bagong Henerasyon Party-List Rep. Bernadette Herrera in a press conference Thursday hailed the House leadership's move to add much-needed funds for mass polio vaccination, especially among children below the age of five. "For now really a good addition to the budget...Mahalaga iyon para sa atin (That's important to us)," Herrera said. "Kailangan suyurin lahat, gawin nating 100 percent yung polio vaccine na three doses sa lahat ng five years old (We need to cover everybody, let's make it 100 percent coverage of three doses each for all children aged below five years old)," she said. Quoting Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Herrera said the DOH needs P800 million for its campaign against polio. Polio is a contagious illness spread through person-to-person contact, primarily via the oral-fecal route. An infected person who does not practice proper hand or body hygiene passes the infection to another individual, according to the WHO.
Davao City 3rd district Rep. Isidro Ungab(HOR / MANILA BULLETIN) "The DOH budget is augmented by P200 million only, to be distributed as follows: P100 million for the additional MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses) of the National Center for Mental Health and P100 million for Quick Response Fund or QRF," he said in a text message to reporters. Asked if additional funds for anti-poliovirus efforts would be taken from the QRF, Ungab said: "Yes pwede kunin sa QRF (Yes we can get it from the QRF)." These statements from the House leader served as a denial to earlier reports that up to P250 million would be realigned to the DOH solely for the fight against polio. The Philippines is currently in the middle of a polio scare after the deadly disease reemerged through the case of a three-year-old girl in Lanao del Sur--the first since the country was declared polio-free in October 2000. However, it was 1993 when the last confirmed local case of polio was recorded. The recent polio case has since been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as vaccine-derived and not from wild poliovirus, thus allowing the Philippines to keep its polio-free status, for now. For next year, the DOH has a proposed budget of P88 billion, down from its 2019 appropriation of P98.6 billion. "There will be an additional amount of P500 million for the Hospital Services Program of UP-PGH (Philippine General Hospital) for the provision of its medical services," Ungab added. "We confirm that this augmented amount will be sourced from the allocated budget for SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) and Barangay Elections," the Mindanao solon further said. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano bared last week that the next village and youth polls, originally scheduled for May 2020, has a budget allocation P5 billion. The Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms approved the proposed postponement of the polls to May 2023 earlier this week. Deputy Majority Leader, Bagong Henerasyon Party-List Rep. Bernadette Herrera in a press conference Thursday hailed the House leadership's move to add much-needed funds for mass polio vaccination, especially among children below the age of five. "For now really a good addition to the budget...Mahalaga iyon para sa atin (That's important to us)," Herrera said. "Kailangan suyurin lahat, gawin nating 100 percent yung polio vaccine na three doses sa lahat ng five years old (We need to cover everybody, let's make it 100 percent coverage of three doses each for all children aged below five years old)," she said. Quoting Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Herrera said the DOH needs P800 million for its campaign against polio. Polio is a contagious illness spread through person-to-person contact, primarily via the oral-fecal route. An infected person who does not practice proper hand or body hygiene passes the infection to another individual, according to the WHO.