MANILA – The House of Representatives approved a bill seeking to prohibit the privatization and corporatization of public health facilities and services in the country.
The House passed on third and final reading House Bill 7437.
The bill wants to ban nongovernment actors from becoming involved in the financing and provision of healthcare services in public hospitals and other public health facilities.
Bayan Muna representative Carlos Zarate, one of the authors of the bill, said he is hopeful that the Senate will follow suit in passing its version of the bill so that more Filipinos would have access to healthcare.
“Healthcare must be made accessible, affordable, and appropriate to the needs of the people. Public hospitals, as part of the public health care delivery system, must be fully developed and strengthened by the government, not privatized,” Zarate said.
He added, “This is a major step to address the inaccessibility and inequity in healthcare made worse by privatization of public health services. We hope that the Senate will also fast-track [its version] so that it would be enacted into law.”
The bill also seeks to prohibit the Department of Health secretary from causing or approving the privatization of any public health facility.
At least 90 percent of the total bed capacity of all public hospitals must also be allotted for poor patients, the proposal said.
Should President Rodrigo Duterte sign the bill into a law, first-time violators would be fined between P100,000 to P200,000, with a one to two-year suspension from public office.
For the second offense, violators would be fined between P200,000 and P500,000, with a temporary disqualification from holding any public office between three to six years.
For third offense, the fine for violators may reach as high as P500,0000 to P800,000, with removal from public office and perpetual disqualification from holding any public position./PN
