Kinuwestyon ni Sen. Risa Hontiveros noong Oktubre 22 ang P2-bilyong pagbabawas sa 2021 badyet ng 33 national at regional government hospitals, dahil posible aniya itong magdulot ng pagbagal sa Covid-19 response ng bansa.

Tatlo sa mga ospital na ito ay “major Covid referral centers in cities that have the highest number of cases in their respective regions,” pahayag ni Hontiveros.

Dagdag pa ng senadora, “Billions worth of cuts in the middle of a pandemic means we drastically slashed the capacity of government hospitals to provide services and medicines for free.”

“Dahil dito, aakyat pa ang out-of-pocket expenses ng mga tao. This is grossly anti-poor and anti-people,” pagbibigay diin nito.

Ang Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC), na may pinakamataas na bilang ng mga Covid-19 case sa Pilipinas, ay makakukuha ng P305.48 milyong funding reduction, habang ang Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao naman ay magkakaroon naman ng P699.2 milyong budget cut, wika ni Hontiveros.

“Most of these hospitals are in emerging, if not current, hotspot areas,” wika ng mambabatas.

Dagdag pa, “Shouldn’t common sense tell us that when the threat is rising, we provide reinforcement?”

“We don’t know when this pandemic will end, so our hospitals have to be ever-ready to deal with the influx of patients,” paliwanag ng senadora.

Ang P10-bilyong budget cut para sa Prevention and Control of Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases ay isa pa aniyang kwestyunableng usapin.

“Hindi tayo pwedeng basta-basta lang ‘business-as-usual,'” giit ni Hontiveros.

Dagdag pa nito, “Hindi porket may COVID-19 ay nawala na ang ibang sakit, kaya dapat pinapatapang natin ang budget para sa matinding laban na ito.”