Photo Release

On devolved health services: Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, during the virtual briefing of the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) on the proposed 2022 National Expenditure Program, notes the emerging trend of renationalization of devolved health services mandated by the Mandanas ruling. Drilon, during the Committee on Finance briefing Wednesday, September 8, 2021, noted that several bills have been filed in the Senate making provincial hospitals regionalized, thus, making the operations of these hospitals being funded by the national budget. “I am making this intervention be placed on the record and to flag our DBM (Department of Budget and Management) and our DOF (Department of Finance) that this effort to address our burgeoning deficit as a result of the Mandanas ruling is not being served by the fact that there are hospitals, which are now with the LGU (local government unit) budget that are being renationalized,” Drilon said.(Screen grab/Senate PRIB)