"The Privatization of Public Hospitals"

    Privatization is the process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency, public service or public property from the public sector or the government to the private sector, either to a business that operate for a profit or to a non-profit organization. There are certain laws that tackle the so called “Privatization”. One concrete example of these laws is the House Bill 6069 or an Act Creating National Government Hospital Corporations. House Bill 6069 was filed by Bacolod Rep. Anthony Rolando Golez, Jr., which has been passed by the Committee on Health in the House of Representatives last May 16. The House Bill 6069 aims to privatize privatize or corporatize 26 public hospitals like Cagayan Valley Medical Center (CVMC), Veterans Regional Hospital, Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center, Region I Medical Center, Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Center, Jose B. Lingad Memorial Medical Center, Batangas Regional Hospital, Bicol Medical Center, Bicol Research Training and Teaching Hospital, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Rizal Medical Center, Amang Rodriguez Medical Center, San Lazaro Hospital, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC), Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH), Western Visayas Medical Center, Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC), Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC), Cotabato Regional and Medical Center, Caraga Regional Hospital, Davao Regional Hospital, and Mayor Hilarion A. Ramiro, Sr. Regional Training and Teaching Hospital. 

    The House Bill 6069 is similar to the law passed by Senator Franklin Drilon which is the Senate Bill 3130 or the National Government Hospital Corporate Restructuring Act, which also has the same content as HB 6069. Why is there a privatization? How does it help our economy? According to the Economic Analysts, privatization is usually done to public properties those are not supplying the needs of the people and generate income for the government projects. Does this mean that these 26 public hospitals don’t supply the needs of the people and generate income for the government projects? It is really a question to us citizens whether this law can improve our economic status. The government believes that a corporation will improve if it is controlled by the private sector because there would be enough capital for the improvement that will be applied to the business unlike if it is controlled by the government where there is a problem where to get the income. Our country is experiencing budget deficit because of the disequilibrium in the prices we conduct and income that is not properly distributed.

   House Bill 6069 was all strongly opposed by progressive groups. The opposing groups said that privatizing public hospitals reduce overall access of the poor to health services, increase the number of seriously-ill people unable to get treatment, and result in more deaths from diseases  due to the fact that it would be controlled by a private sector where the price to be declared depends on him/her. Based on my own opinion, the House Bill 6069 or the Senate Bill 3130 lacks points of strength because it remains unclear or vague to us the objectives of this House Bill but it is said to us that it aims to privatize 26 public hospitals but do we know what comes next? The government should look and study the law because enforcing the law would affect the economy because there would 26 public hospitals that would be privatize which is a large number for me considering that these are public hospitals not owned by the private sector. For every law there is a purpose and that purpose has also another purpose behind it.

                                                                                                                              -- Anton Miguel Jordan