P-Noy seeks P2.54 billion for family health program

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino is seeking P2.54 billion for the administration’s “family health and responsible parenting” program next year, Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada said yesterday.

He said the funding is contained in the P2.006-trillion 2013 national budget the President sent to Congress on July 24, a day after his State of the Nation Address.

Tañada said the allocation is not in any way connected with the aggressive push for the Responsible Health (RH) bill in Congress, as it is an institutional project of the Department of Health (DOH).

“In fact, the same program is being implemented this year with the same funding level. You can clearly see that there is no augmentation in anticipation of the RH bill’s passage,” he said, belying allegations that the fund will be used for an “abortion tools buying spree.”

He said other notable health-related programs include the planned increase in the number of indigents to be covered by health insurance and the P13.6-billion rehabilitation of regional and provincial hospitals and rural health centers.

Tañada said the government would hire an additional 22,500 nurses, 4,379 midwives and 131 doctors for deployment in the provinces to make health care accessible to the poor in the countryside.

Funds for family health, rehabilitation of health facilities and hiring of additional personnel are included in the DOH’s P56-billion budget for next year.

The House appropriations committee has not been able to conduct hearings on the proposed 2013 national budget since Monday due to bad weather.

It is scheduled to resume hearings today.

Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, committee chairman, earlier said his panel would finish its scrutiny of the outlay this month so that the House could begin tackling it in plenary session in September.

Exuding confidence

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. had assured the President in 2011 that Congress would approve his budget proposal before the end of this year so that funds could be released as early as January.

He said early disbursements would allow the administration to keep the economy on the high growth path.

“We are hopeful that this measure would be approved here on third and final reading. We are not setting any absolute timetable because I don’t want a perception that we are putting pressure for House members to pass it. But we will proceed with the process,” he told reporters.

He voiced his optimism on the eventual approval of the measure three days after his chamber overwhelmingly voted to terminate floor debates on it.

Congressmen opposed to the bill tried in vain to block the vote.

Before it gets to the third and final-reading state, the bill would be subjected to amendments and second-reading vote.

Before it gets to the third and final-reading state, the bill would be subjected to amendments and second-reading vote.

Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, who traffics business in the House, said he expects to start the period of amendments next week but could not say how long the process of proposing changes in the bill would take.

Both Belmonte and Gonzales are for the proposed law on reproductive health, responsible parenthood and population development.

Those opposed to the bill said Monday’s vote to terminate floor debates did not mean that they have already lost the battle.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said he and anti-RH lawmakers could still have enough votes to defeat the measure when it is put to a second-reading vote.

As this developed, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the RH bill’s approval will help mitigate calamities such as flooding in the future.

“An inordinately huge population growth rate makes difficult and expensive risk management during calamities, contributes to the destruction of the environment, creates an imbalance in the ecosystems, and hinders the efficacy of climate change mitigation and adaptation,” he said, adding that that the flooding this week in Metro Manila and other areas “shows the hardship and expense of rescue and relief operations because of the multitude affected by the calamity.”

Lagman cited a study commissioned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which found that “policies and interventions that focus on biodiversity conservation alone are insufficient in abating biodiversity losses and destruction of forest resources unless population and development concerns are adequately addressed.” – The Freeman, Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star)