Senators have thrown their support to the initiative of Senator JV Ejercito to restore the P36-billion budget slashed from the P109.8-budget of the Department of Health with the impending enactment into law of the Universal Health Care measure.
Acknowledging the need for sustainable funding, Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri said it would be difficult to implement the program without enough funding.
Zubiri said that while they had committed to make health care and services accessible to all Filipinos, this cannot be properly carried out without sufficient funding.
Speaking in yesterday’s regular “Kapihan sa Senado,” Zubiri said Finance committee chairperson Senator Loren Legarda had promised to return the funds cut from the next year’s budget of the DOH.
“Senator Loren has promised to look for some funding,” Zubiri said.
Ejercito, the principal author and sponsor of the UHC bill in the Senate underscored te need for steady funds even as he lamented that the budget cut ln the DOH national capital outlay was a very bad timing and a “ step backward” for the UHC.”
In a related development, advocates of Sin Tax Coalition have thrown their support to the DOH position to increase taxes on tobacco and alcohol, since funds from PhilHealth will not be enough to fully cover the country’s healthcare delivery system.
According to Philhealth Independent Director Dr. Anthony Leachon, a marginal increase in funding will only generate a small amount of revenue, which will be insufficient to finance the UHC program.
“We are afraid that the UHC rollout will not happen next year because of lack of funding. This is politically unacceptable to the electorate whose expectations for improved health care have been heightened by the promise of expanded health coverage and increased health benefits,” he added.
Dr. Antonio Dans, public health expert from the National Academy of Science and Technology, said the proposed increase is not even an improvement of the current tax rate. Its proposed implementation in July 2019 is just six months earlier than what is currently mandated under the TRAIN Law in which the tobacco tax will be raised to ₱37.50 by January 2020. Worse, the legislators passed a bill that will enable 200,000 people to start smoking and get addicted to this deadly product.
The Sin Tax Coalition warned that the UHC implementation may be delayed due to lack of funds after “sustainable funds” suffered a major blow when Congress approved a rate of ₱37.5 for the first year and smaller percentage increases in the following, which is still a far cry from the Salceda bill of ₱45 (and (Senator Manny Pacquiao) and (Senator JV Ejercito) bills of ₱60 and ₱90, respectively in the first year) followed by significant percentage increases in the following years. 37.50-2019, 40-2020, 42.50-2021, 45-2022 nand 4 percent annual indexation after 2022.
“We are disturbed and disappointed by the House of Representatives committee on ways and means approved rate on tobacco tax. The marginal rate increase will not only increase the number of smokers by 200,000 each year. It will likewise translate to 2,000 yearly deaths from purely tobacco-related ailments.”
The House ways and means committee of an increase of ₱2.50 per pack effective July 2019 and ₱2.50 per pack each year until 2022. After which, the increment will be four percent each year.
The sin tax advocates also reminded politicians to remember that UHC implementation and tobacco tax increase will guarantee their votes in 2019.
Pulse Asia survey showed that two out of three Filipinos favor a tax increase on tobacco to fund UHC and will support candidates favoring this.