Solon Warns of Worsening Medical Staff Shortage Amid DOH Budget Cuts

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio on Saturday slammed the planned cuts to the Department of Health’s (DOH) budget amid medical personnel shortages. Under the 2027 National Expenditure Program, the health agency received a significantly lower-than-requested budget of P353.8 billion from its proposed P837 billion for next year. During the House committee on appropriations’ briefing on the DOH’s 2027 proposed budget, Tinio raised that the massive budget reduction would affect the fund intended for hospital operations and personnel services. READ: DOH warns of compromised programs due to possible 2027 budget cut The solon cited that DOH hospitals in Metro Manila would receive only P26.9 billion from the previous P30 billion in 2026. He noted that Rizal Memorial Medical Center would have a half-billion-peso loss, while the National Center for Mental Health gets a P311-million cut. “Kulang na nga ng staff, binabawasan pa. The DOH itself admitted these are unfilled plantilla positions being removed from next year’s budget. That means hospitals will have no opportunity to fill them up during the fiscal year,” Tinio expressed. He expressed that filling vacant plantilla positions would address the problem of insufficient medical personnel and professionals in public hospitals. Tinio then called for the restoration of the proposed cuts in the personnel services and maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) of DOH-retained hospitals. Although the DOH said it would obtain additional funds through Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth) reimbursements and allocations in the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program, it will still be insufficient to sustain the needs of hospitals. Primarily, only 30,000 hospital beds remained authorized, despite the “promised expansion” of 45,000 by 2028—which was delayed because of the Health Facilities Enhancement Program budget cuts, according to Tinio. “But reimbursement is not instantaneous. In the meantime, our hospitals will be operating on funds that are insufficient—and patients will suffer. Ang kailangan ng mga ospital, direct na pondo para direktang maibigay ang serbisyo,” he stressed. “We oppose this arrangement na mukhang pinagkakasunduan ng DBM at DOH na bawasan ang MOOE ng mga ospital dahil daw may MAIFIP at PhilHealth.” He said that he would take these concerns to the plenary in a bid to seek bigger funding for the DOH. “Maganda ang Zero Balance Billing sa papel, pero kung limitado ang kapasidad ng ating mga pampublikong ospital, limitado rin ang makikinabang na mamamayan. Iiwanan lang ng sistema ang ating mga kababayan sa mga pribadong ospital na mas mahal,” he said.