Worse, the bill gives both the DBM and Civil Service Commission vast powers including the authority to repeal or take back economic benefits given to government employees. This would reverse the gains achieved by government employees through concerted action such as Republic Act 7305 or the Magna Carta for Health Workers of 1992, the Magna Carta for Teachers, among others. Health workers also believe that the GCCA would be used by both agencies to implement mass lay-offs in the government sector.

Medical tourism = streamlining

The Arroyo government is aggressively pushing for its medical tourism program. Medical tourism is being promoted by the government purportedly to improve the quality of health services and to encourage health professionals and workers to stay in the country. But one of the government’s first projects under this program is the integration of the five major specialty hospitals—National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, and the East Avenue Medical Center. This, health workers said, would lead to duplication of jobs in hospital services such as pharmacy and dietary leading to retrenchments. A joint Board of Directors would also be created with vast powers, including the authority to reduce the allocation of charity patients. (LINK sa previous articles regarding these)

The AHW also believes that medical tourism would not lead to an increase in the salaries of health professionals and workers as revenues would be directed towards infrastructure development and acquisition of state of the art medical technology. Last year, the government claimed that the medical tourism industry earned P 125 million ($2,551,020) and doctors were asked to charge higher user fees. But health workers and professionals have yet to receive any increase in salaries disproving government claims that the program would also benefit them.

In a statement in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Secretary Francisco Duque suggested a review of legal impediments in the constitution that prevents the entry of Indian physicians in the country. Some 400 applied for medical residency last year but were denied.

“We could soon expect a lot of Chinese and Indian doctors, whose rate are said to be cheaper than ours, working in the country leading to streamlining in our hospitals and displacing Filipino health professionals. These countries would also be sending nurses to ASEAN countries soon,” said Jossel Ebesate, chief nurse of the UP-PGH and President of the ALL-UP Workers Union.

Ebesate added that this move to liberalize the entry of foreign health professionals and workers are in line with the rules of “reprocity” under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade( GATT) which the national government adheres to. This could only mean displacement and further neglect for our own health workers.

Plugging an unstoppable leak

The year 2006 was the most controversial for the nursing sector with the much-publicized leakage in the nursing licensure examinations. Although progressive health organizations believe that the problem of leakage in the nursing licensure examinations has been going on for years, the June 2006 leakage generated the most controversy. It has placed the future of 42, 000 examinees under question.

Moreover, the AHW said the controversy regarding the leakage exposed the commercial orientation of nursing education in the country.

There was a long stand off between those who proposed that examinees retake the licensure exams and those who refused. The issue was aggravated by confusing statistics produced by the Professional Regulations Commission regarding passing scores with or without considering the controversial sections of the tests. The Arroyo government added to the confusion by flip-flopping in its position regarding the call for a retake of the examinations.

After the Court of Appeals (CA) ruled on a selective retake of Test 3 and 5 of the June nursing board exams, it has been back to business as usual. The government has remained mum on the fate of those who were identified as accountable. None of those found liable by the National Bureau of Investigation, including Board of Nursing Commissioners Virginia Madeja and Anesia Dionisio, former Philippine Nursing Association President George Cordero, and operators of Inress review centers, had their day in court.

Immediately after, the CA ruling President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo met with representatives of the U.S. National Council of Sate Boards to resume discussions on the prospects of establishing a NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse) testing center in the Philippines. Recently, two major employment programs recently signed by the Arroyo government under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement and the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Agreement were designed to facilitate the entry and practice of Filipino nurses in Japan and ASEAN countries.

Heal and struggle

The Philippines is reputed to be the biggest exporter of nurses and second biggest exporter of doctors. The country’s health professionals are known as caring and efficient. But those who remained to care for the country’s ailing population are themselves neglected. They continue to work within a crumbling health system made worse by a decreasing health budget. The threat of streamlining and retrenchment hovers over their heads. They constantly face the challenge of being understaffed, overworked and underpaid. Laws and policies that worsen their living and working conditions are being passed.

But they are determined to push forward in their struggle for just wages and benefits, including a P3, 000 ($61.22) across the board increase; for job security; and for their democratic rights. They believe that their healing starts with their participation in the struggle. (Bulatlat.com)

Gov’t Neglecting Health – Health NGO (First of two parts)

 Save as PDF