MANILA — Deputy Speaker and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin defended the House of Representatives’ decision to realign billions of pesos in the proposed 2027 Department of Health (DOH) budget, saying the move would ensure that public funds are immediately used to benefit patients.

Garin, a former health secretary, said the adjustments were prompted by slow budget utilization and delays in implementing health projects, stressing that the realignment would not undermine public health services.

“Kaya hindi totoong naging dagok ’yan sa kalusugan,” Garin said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, dismissing concerns that the budget adjustments would weaken the country’s healthcare system.

She cited the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), which had utilized only 11% of its funds during the period examined in congressional budget hearings.

The House consequently reduced the program’s proposed allocation by approximately P4.45 billion, following concerns over delayed hospital projects and unspent appropriations from previous years.

“In other words, ’yung sistema ang may problema dahil the bureaucracy prohibits the immediate implementation of programs,” Garin said.

She attributed the delays to lengthy approval procedures, with project documents repeatedly passing between local government units, DOH regional offices and the department’s central office.

Instead of allowing appropriations to remain unused, Garin said lawmakers redirected funding to medical assistance programs that help patients settle hospital bills while providing healthcare facilities with additional resources.

“Ang paglipat sa medical assistance program is actually hitting two birds with one stone. ‘Yung pondo nagagamit para pambayad ng pasyente sa ospital,” she explained.

She added that hospitals could use the payments to hire more personnel, acquire medical equipment and undertake facility repairs.

Garin also justified the reduction of approximately P4.87 billion in proposed allocations for family health, immunization and nutrition commodities, citing the failure to utilize previous vaccine appropriations.

“Ang pondo ng 2025 hindi pa nagamit. Ang pondo ng 2026 hindi pa nagamit,” she said, referring to pneumococcal vaccines intended for children.

She said Health Secretary Edwin Mercado had initiated measures to accelerate procurement, with vaccine deliveries expected to start before the end of 2026 and continue throughout 2027.

Meanwhile, Garin questioned the roughly P2-billion reduction in proposed health promotion funding, particularly the continued allocation of substantial amounts for television advertisements and printed information materials that often go unused.

She clarified that health education campaigns would remain in place through individual DOH programs, including initiatives addressing hypertension and diabetes.

The lawmaker also called on the health department to streamline its approval processes to prevent further delays in hospital construction and other infrastructure projects.

“We are still awaiting for the simplified guidelines para hindi nagpi-ping pong ’yung papeles,” she said.

Garin expressed hope that the simplified procedures would be implemented in 2027, allowing the government to accelerate project completion and increase funding for health infrastructure in succeeding years.