Health chief ensures social insurance for poorest of the poor

By Claro A. Lanipa

PAGADIAN CITY – In his recent visit here, Health Secretary Enrique Ona urged Mayor Samuel Co to list down all poor families that were not included in the National Housing Targeting System (NHTS) survey of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) so that they will be enrolled in the government’s social insurance.

“This is what I asked so that all poor Filipinos especially here in Mindanao and even here in Zamboanga del Sur can be enrolled in PhilHealth,” Sec. Ona pointed out.

Sec. Ona was the guest of honor and speaker during the 76^th Founding Anniversary of the city of Pagadian last March 26.

He said when he was appointed as secretary of health, the first thing he recommended to President Benigno S. Aquino III was to make sure that we include the poorest of the poor in the social insurance, which we now call “PhilHealth.”

“Indeed, during our first year of implementation President Aquino made it possible to enroll 5.2 million families/households or about 8.5 million individuals in Philhealth,” Ona said.

“So, what we are doing today is improving our hospitals, rural health units, district hospitals and even our barangay health stations,” Ona reported.

He added that last year including this year the national government has allocated P12.5 billion to enroll the poor families in the country in PhilHealth. “And with the passage of ‘sin tax’ we will be able to enroll almost the same number of poor families in the succeeding years,” Ona said.   

He reported further, that the national government has allocated for Zamboanga del Sur and Pagadian City for the improvement of health facilities  as follows: P55 million and another P45 million through the European Communities for 2010; P20 million for the Zamboanga del Sur Medical Center (ZSMC) and P164 million for the regional hospital in Margosatubig town for 2011; P39.3 million for the rural health units and another P15 million for the ZSMC for 2012; and for this year P96 million and P70 million for the rural health units and ZSMC, respectively.

Pagadian is Secretary Ona’s hometown. (PIA9)