“Health workers strongly urge our legislators to defund NTF-ELCAC and re-allocate its P19 billion so that it may not be wasted or may be used for corruption and vote-buying activities in the upcoming 2022 national and local elections,” the AHW said in a statement on Saturday, October 31.“No more free health services are enjoyed by patients in public hospitals due to the 'fee for service scheme' and 'revenue enhancement program' being implemented by government hospitals.
AHW president Ronald Mendoza also said that the proposed 2021 budget was “unacceptable.” The group called on the senators to prioritize the use of funds for the greater needs of the people during the pandemic, after the House of Representatives“Huge budget is allotted for pork barrels, intelligence and confidential funds of generals and government officials, including the NTF-ELCAC.
The group further said that the budget for 23 hospitals nationwide was cut by at least P1.2 billion, and that there was meager allotment for the procurement of personal protective equipment for medical frontliners. They also said there was no fund for the benefits, hazard pay, and salary increases of health workers amid the pandemic.
The NTF-ELCAC is a task force formed by President Rodrigo Duterte to fight communist insurgencies in the country. But it has had a history of circulating posts attacking the media and has been slammed for red-tagging progressive groups and journalists critical of the government. The group also called for an “immediate special audit” on the NTF-ELCAC budget, as well as a lifestyle check on the high-ranking officials of the task force.
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