Senator Pia S. Cayetano, Senior Vice Chair for Finance, presided over the hearing on the 297.6-billion 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) budget of the Department of Health (DOH) and its attached agencies and corporations today, October 8.
Having chaired the Senate Committee on Health and Demography for nine years since 2004, and the Health Budget for five years, she raised the need to shift focus towards preventive healthcare, as well as to promote healthy lifestyles among Filipinos. She also urged the DOH to go beyond band-aid interventions and explore long-term strategies instead, aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 on Good Health and Well-Being.
“We cannot just save lives at the last minute,” Cayetano stated. “What are we doing to help more people enter their senior years in a healthy state of mind and body?”
During the hearing, the Subcommittee received an update on several key initiatives on health infrastructure completed in 2023, which the Senator pushed for under DOH’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) – including the completion of 1,531 new facilities such as super health centers and hospitals, medical equipment like mammogram with biopsy, and motor vehicles like sea and land ambulances.
Other crucial programs and projects initiated through the support of Senator Cayetano include the Lung Transplant Program, Early Detection of Lung Cancer, and Biobanking under the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP); the Advance Comprehensive Center for Pediatric Brain and Spine Pediatric Cancer Center of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC); and a Digital Cardiac MRI and upgrading of the Hospital Information System of the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), among others.
Meanwhile, Senator Cayetano raised critical questions on various health sector concerns, including the pending health emergency allowances for healthcare workers, delays in the implementation of other health infrastructure projects, updates on immunization and reproductive health programs, healthcare workforce gaps, and PhilHealth’s benefit expansion and recent fund transfers to the national treasury.
As the budget hearing concluded, Senator Cayetano reiterated her commitment to improving the Philippines’ healthcare system. She emphasized the need for a paradigm shift from reactive to proactive healthcare, urging the DOH and its attached agencies to focus on long-term, sustainable solutions.
“Our goal should be to create a healthcare system that not only treats illnesses but actively promotes wellness,” the Senator stated.#
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