By Quennie Sereno
It is nearing two years since the pandemic struck and already the election bells are ringing. While the politicians are holding meetings and discussing possible alliances, there seems to be no end to the persistent challenges that beset the Filipino people. The problem on the public health condition has become more highlighted along with the consequent troubles caused by the pandemic.
We are now facing another important chapter, the upcoming 2022 presidential elections. Alongside with the continuing problems of a global health crisis, we find ourselves in a turning point of our nation’s history.
As we are set to choose the next Philippine president, a central question remains unanswered: Will we be able to recuperate?
A poor and weak healthcare system
The condition of hospitals, which have been bordering critical capacity throughout the peak of the pandemic, can no longer be left unnoticed.1 The news was replete with stories of patients who had to wait for days to weeks in the emergency department before being admitted and treated.2 Some are forced to jump from one hospital to another, seeking some space in the healthcare system, while others do not get the chance to be taken inside the emergency department.
The country’s modern-day heroes, who are overworked yet underpaid, plead for better working conditions. As the pandemic wears on with no foreseeable end, they are left exhausted and demoralized, especially when they are not being paid their promised medical benefits. Ironically, despite the Philippines being the world’s top source for nurses, the country’s hospitals remainconsistently understaffed.3
Before, limited access to vaccines was a factor that impeded the government’s response to the pandemic. The challenge this time is not limited access to vaccines, but the government’s slow distribution of the vaccines. The country has set its year-end goal of vaccinating 70% of the population—roughly 77 million people—but as of the second week of December, only 37.3 million have been fully vaccinated with 90 million doses already administered.4
This pandemic brought every government under a test—which the Philippines has yet to pass—to see how they are going to respond to this unparalleled global health crisis. If anything else, the pandemic has exposed the country’s weak healthcare system.
If anything else, the pandemic has exposed the country’s weak healthcare system.
Since the outbreak, the country has reported a total of 3,092,409 cases and 52,736 deaths (as of 14 January 2022).5
With the current state of the nation and the upcoming national elections, one is on the lookout for a competent leader who will introduce the much-needed changes to the country’s healthcare system.
The dictator’s son
Leading the survey on presidential candidates is Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., the son of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr.6 Marking the comeback of a Marcos in the presidential race, Marcos Jr. presents himself as the “unifying leader” who will get the Philippines out of a pandemic rut. If elected, he plans to push for a higher budget for healthcare and medical research. He aims to increase the salaries and benefits of medical front liners through his program called “Tawid-Covid, Beyond Covid.”
Marcos Jr. advocates that benefits like Special Risk Allowance and Hazard Pay should extend not just to medical front liners but also to non-medical front liners such as guards, janitors, and other personnel working hospitals and quarantine facilities who are exposed to the same risks. This presidential aspirant also expressed his concerns over the alarming number of Philippine hospitals experiencing staffing problems who are either getting sick or disenchanted with delayed release of benefits or low salaries.7
He also opines that there is an impending need to boost the funding of the country’s main Covid-19 research laboratory, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and to strengthen the University of the Philippines’ National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology for the country to produce its vaccine.8 He claimed that it was his late father who “created” the RITM. However, it was fact-checked that the RITM “was already under construction well before Executive Order No. 674 was issued by President Marcos.”9
But 36 years after deposing the tyrant Marcos Sr., do we deserve another Marcos in Malacañang?
The woman in pink
On the other side of the political fence is Vice President Leonor “Leni” Robredo, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration. Robredo, who now runs for the presidency, shared that she is eyeing for an estimated P500 billion discretionary funds to finance her pandemic response plan, “Kalayaan sa Covid-19.”10
At the core of the said program is strengthening the country’s public healthcare system. The funds, she said, would be used to provide sufficient salaries and benefits to medical front liners, support hospitals with equipment and beds, roll-out free testing, purchase medicine supply and procure Covid-19 vaccines. She aims to expand a free medical teleconsultation platform called “E-Konsulta system” through private partnerships.11
On mandatory vaccination, she advocates incentivizing the citizenry rather than punishing them, such as giving a sack of rice to the people to get swabbed and food supplies should they test positive, citing the practice of her office’s mobile Covid-19 testing in communities.12 In ensuring free access to healthcare, Robredo, who had a track record of lawyering for the marginalized, said that Filipinos should be enrolled in the National Health Insurance Program under the Universal Health Act (UHC). 13
Distancing herself from the so-called dilawan, would Robredo successfully emerge as the opposition leader in her own right and color to introduce the country’s needed healthcare reforms?
The labor leader
Another oppositionist and advocate of workers’ rights is presidential aspirant Leodegario “Ka Leody” de Guzman. He is the chairman of Bukluran ng Masang Pilipino and standard bearer of Partido Lakas ng Masa. In a speech, he said that the country needs, not just a change in the face of the president in Malacañang, but a change in the system.14
In a speech, he said that the country needs, not just a change in the face of the president in Malacañang, but a change in the system.
In his “25 Point Program ng Laban ng Masa”, Ka Leody’s plans include reallocation of presidential intelligence funds, such as the proposed budget for National Task Force to End Communist Armed Conflict, which is the government’s anti-insurgency task force accused of red-tagging activists, to a Covid-19 pandemic and economic fund and increasing funds for vaccine purchases.15
Ka Leody said that he plans to impose a one-time 20% wealth tax on the richest 500 families in order to fund his P1-trillion recovery plan. P400 million would be used to strengthen the healthcare system and another P475 million would be used to generate public jobs. He also plans to allocate a budget amounting to P250-billion to ensure better compensation for healthcare workers.16 Reputed as an advocate of workers’ rights, will the healthcare workers rally behind him?
The police general
On his second bid for the presidency is Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. He emphasizes the implementation of the UHC law by making sure to fund its ‘high-cost’ requirement which includes subsidies for all indirect contributory populations, ensuring optimal benefits for health care workers, and achieving the target of 1 hospital bed per 800 population. 17
Lacson plans to institutionalize free Covid-19 testing and treatment. Believing that his economic policy lies on the foundational ground of the country’s health system, Lacson said he would not hesitate to allocate billions of funds to make such testing and treatments accessible to the public at no cost of their own. 18
He also promises to acquire newly developed Covid-19 pills such as Molnupiravir and other antiviral drugs. 19 Another key point in his plan to strengthen the country’s Covid-19 response is “localizing the problem” which means allowing the local government units to procure medicines and medical supplies.20
Will the 2022 presidential elections be sweeter to him this second time around?
Si Yorme
Capitalizing on his popularity since the 2019 local elections, Manila City Mayor Franscisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, also known as “Yorme,” also joined the presidential race. Domagoso disapproves of having to rely on lockdowns in combating the pandemic. The country, according to him, should learn how to live with the virus.
Underscoring the need to return to normalcy, he promises to devote his first two years in office to strengthen the healthcare system of the country. 21 He plans to build more health facilities and purchase more COVID-19 medicines so that the economy can “reopen without fear of overwhelming the healthcare system.” 22
Under his administration, he will seek the assistance of experts to lead the country out of the pandemic . It is also for this reason why he chose Dr. Willie Ong—a medical doctor who became popular for giving free medical advice online—as his running mate for the 2022 presidential race. 23
The boxing legend
Probably the most well-known among the 2022 presidential candidates is world-renowned boxing legend Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao Sr. also known as “PacMan”.
Pacquiao urged the government to launch a crackdown on private hospitals which refuse proper compensation to their healthcare workers. He said that the management of private hospitals which refused to do so should be prosecuted. At the same time, he also asked the government to address the concerns of private hospitals as regards the snail-paced processing of their claims from PhilHealth.
He also seeks to increase the minimum wage of nurses to P50,000, apart from the hazard pay and overtime pay. 24 Wanting to unclog government hospitals, he added that he plans to modernize the barangay health centers and professionalize barangay health workers by assigning to the latter minor health emergencies while to the former the more serious ailments and emergencies. 25
Anybody’s game
The need for a strong and viable healthcare system has been the case for the Philippines for decades but made worse by the pandemic. This need is one that cannot be overlooked by a presidential aspirant if he or she desires to win the coveted seat in the Malacañang.
Each presidential aspirant has his or her own plan on how to deal with the outcry of the exhausted healthcare workers, the plight of overrun hospitals, the vaccine dilemmas, and presenting long-term plans beyond the pandemic if there ever was such an end.
The task of leading the country out of the depths of despair onto the path of recovery will be a long, difficult road ahead for the Filipinos and for the next president. Who that next president will be is still uncertain. After all, it is still anybody’s game.
1 Gotinga, J. (n.d.). ‘We’ve cried ourselves dry’: COVID overwhelms Manila hospitals. Retrieved from www.aljazeera.com: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/19/for-kate-patients-die-as-covid- overwhelms-philippine-hospitals
2 Tomacruz, S. (n.d.). Over 300 COVID-19 patients wait days for admission in Metro Manila hospitals. Retrieved from www.rappler.com: https://www.rappler.com/nation/patients-wait-days-admission-metro-manila- hospitals-april-2021
3 Santos, A. (n.d.). Philippines: Nurses threaten mass resignation amid COVID surge. Retrieved from www.dw.com: https://www.dw.com/en/philippines-nurses-threaten- mass-resignation-amid-covid-surge/a-59028522
4 Pena, K. (n.d.). PH injection rates fail to catch up with vaccine supply. Retrieved from newsinfo.inquirer.net: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1506302/ph-injection-rates-fail- to-catch-up-with-vaccine-supply
5 Retrieved from https://www.who.int/: https://covid19.who.int/region/wpro/country/ph
6 Lema, K. (n.d.). After dust settles, son of late Philippine dictator emerges as presidential frontrunner. Retrieved from www.reuters.com: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia- pacific/after-dust-settles-son-late-philippine-dictator-emerges-presidential- frontrunner-2021-11-16/
7 Casayuran, M. (n.d.). Bongbong pushes SRA, hazard pay coverage for non-medical staff. Retrieved from mb.com.ph:https://mb.com.ph/2021/09/17/bongbong-pushes-sra- hazard-pay-coverage-for-non-medical-staff/
8 Buan, L. (n.d.). Bongbong Marcos’ pandemic plans: Higher budget for healthcare and medical research. Retrieved from www.rappler.com: https://www.rappler.com/nation/elections/bongbong-marcos-covid-19-pandemic- plans-higher-budget-healthcare-medical-research
9 Jr., M. R. (n.d.). Senator Imee Marcos lies about RITM in pushing for SB1407. Retrieved from verafiles.org: https://verafiles.org/articles/senator-imee-marcos-lies-about- ritm-pushing-sb14
10 Esmael, L. (n.d.). Robredo eyes ₱500-B discretionary funds to finance ‘ambitious’ COVID recovery plan. Retrieved from cnnphilippines.com: https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/11/8/Robredo-eyes-discretionary-funds-to- finance-COVID-recovery-plan.html
11 CNN Philippines Staff. (n.d.). Strengthen healthcare system, fight hunger, continue learning: Robredo details pandemic recovery plan. Retrieved from www.cnnphilippines.com: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/11/3/Leni- Robredo-COVID-pandemic-recovery-plan.html
12 How Robredo Plans to Boost Covid-19 Vaccination. (n.d.). Retrieved from news.abs- cbn.com: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/05/21/how-robredo-plans-to-boost- covid-19-vaccination
13 Rey, A. (n.d.). Robredo’s pandemic response plan: Freedom from COVID-19, hunger, lack of education. Retrieved from www.rappler.com: https://www.rappler.com/nation/elections/robredo-covid-19-pandemic-response- plans-freedom-from-covid-19-hunger-lack-education
14 Gregorio, G. K. (n.d.). Labor leader Leody de Guzman files bid for presidency. Retrieved from www.philstar.com: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/10/06/2131298/labor-leader-leody-de- guzman-files-bid-presidency
15 Philstar.com. (n.d.). If elected, Ka Leody wants NTF-ELCAC scrapped, anti-terrorism law repealed. Retrieved from www.philstar.com: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/10/18/2135045/if-elected-ka-leody- wants-ntf-elcac-scrapped-anti-terrorism-law-repealed
17 Ismael, J. J. (n.d.). Lacson bares economic roadmap. Retrieved from www.manilatimes.net: https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/11/01/news/national/lacson-bares-economic- roadmap/1820529
16 CNN Philippines Staff. (n.d.). Ka Leody eyes wealth tax to finance ₱1-T recovery plan. Retrieved from www.cnn.ph: https://www.cnn.ph/news/2021/11/27/Ka-Leody-eyes- wealth-tax.html
18 Lacson to institutionalize free covid testing treatment if elected president. (n.d.) Retrieved from news.abs-cbn.com: https://news.abs- cbn.com/news/10/31/21/lacson-to-institutionalize-free-covid-testing-treatment-if- elected-president
19 Lalu, G. (n.d.). Lacson vows to sign bank secrecy waiver on Day 1 of presidency. Retrieved from newsinfo.inquirer.net: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1516751/lacson- vows-to-sign-bank-secrecy-waiver-on-day-1-of-presidency
20 CNN Philippines Staff. (n.d.). Lacson: Let LGUs purchase medicines, medical supplies. Retrieved from www.cnnphilippines.com: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/11/10/Lacson-purchase-medicine- medical-supplies-LGUs.html
21 Baclig, C. E. (n.d.). Promises: 5 presidential aspirants present plans for PH Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1517295/promises-5-presidential-aspirants-present- plans-for-ph#ixzz7HfhGWZlt Retrieved from newsinfo.inquirer.net: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1517295/promises-5-presidential-aspirants-present- plans-for-ph
22 Ranada, P. (n.d.). Isko Moreno aims for ‘normalcy’ amid pandemic by December 2022 if elected president. Retrieved from www.rappler.com: https://www.rappler.com/nation/elections/isko-moreno-aims-normalcy-covid-19- pandemic-december-2022-if-elected-president
23 Lalu, G. (n.d.). Isko Moreno on Willie Ong as VP I need a doctor to manage COVID-19. Retrieved from newsinfo.inquirer.net: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1491354/isko- moreno-on-willie-ong-as-vp-i-need-a-doctor-to-manage-covid-19
24 Escosio, J. (n.d.). Pacquiao: Medical workers deserve better compensation; healthcare system reforms a must. Retrieved from newsinfo.inquirer.net: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1537730/pacquiao-medical-workers-deserve-better- compensation-healthcare-system-reforms-a-must
25 Escosio, J. (n.d.). Pacquiao wants free medical services for seniors, modernized brgy health system. Retrieved from newsinfo.inquirer.net: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1524147/pacquiao-wants-free-medical-services-for- seniors-modernized-brgy-health-system