Thursday, April 04, 2013

2nd Hand, everyone?

It's because I'm looking for a phone that I became a member of several "online marketplaces", looking for possible sellers of a second-hand item of the phone I've been looking for. 

As I go deeper in the site, I noticed some of the advertisements stating that they are selling theirs because it's either they don't want the item anymore, or it's stuck and is unused anymore. Some even go for upgrading. A few digging and a series of advertisements struck me - 

Selling *item* for *price*, may sakit lang po kasi si Mama. (My mom is sick.)
The items for sale are of no joke - branded, and seem to be new and functional. However, as compared to the brand new price, they cost even less than half of the original price. Way lower. And because of this, everyone are in a frenzy of haggling even more for the items. Haggling even with the knowledge that his mother is sick.

We are in a developing country. It may seem to be forever developing, but at least, we still are. The country collects taxes to be used for the people, and with the Sin Tax bill being implemented in the Philippines, additional taxes can be collected. However, it seems like these taxes are never really felt by the people.

Healthcare is one of the things that I think is of less importance in our government. The budget allocation for healthcare is way lower as compared to other aspects of our government. Using data from the government, I have concluded before that if every person in the country got sick and is admitted to a government hospital, the budget allocation for each is just 100 pesos, which is just a bottle of intravenous fluid. And, if that patient has no health insurance, what happens?

Healthcare is one of the problems that normal people like us encounter today. Not all of us can afford to have a CT scan, nor some of the medicines available in the market. What if a single CT scan can have you diagnosed and save you from death, and you don't have the money to have it done, what happens? Do you simply die? What if a poor person just endures the pain of having a sickness because he would rather use the money for his family's food? What if, a middle-class family begins to sell their properties just for treatment, with no assurance of wellness?

We need a reformation. And now, I pose a challenge to the government. 

1. Do allocate more in the health sector, taxes are collected from the people for government expenditure. Give more funds to hospitals.

2. Control prices of medicines and supplies in both government and private hospitals. 

3. Regulate the professional fees that private doctors ask from their patients. 

4. Increase the workforce, especially healthcare professionals to avoid understaffing. Give them proper salaries to provide for their own family. Abolish training programs. 

5. Expand the health insurance coverage.

I would not like a poor person just to die because they have been deprived of treatment. I wouldn't like to see a person enduring the pain just to avoid expenses. I wouldn't like families being miserable and going bankrupt because of increasing healthcare expenditures. Most of all, I would not like to see hope-filled people dying because of inaccessible and unattainable healthcare.

Heed my plea.

P.S.: To that person selling his items, I hope for your mother to be well.

Health is also a basic need, for us and for them.

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6 Comments:

At Thursday, April 04, 2013 , Blogger ignored_genius said...

Siguro ang dapat na unahin ng mga nasa gobyerno, to make sure that govt money is spent well is the FOI bill. Bago pa sila gumawa ng batas na pagkakagastusan at pagkakakickbackan, dapat may transparency muna. Nakakalungkot lang talaga, andaming nadedeprioritize dahil ang inuuna nila kung ano ano lang. :(

 
At Thursday, April 04, 2013 , Blogger shynee91 said...

Actually, this is the saddest truth...in my conuntry is the same thing...low budget for medicine...low quality nurses and doctors...the best ones leaved the country because of the miserable salary and dirty conditions...poor people who doesn't have money to buy what they need for their health.and nobody cares...government try to collect more and more taxes from the citizens...I am a pharmacist assistant and in the pharmacy where I work, I meet every day poor sick people, crying because they don't have enough money to buy medicines...but...what can I do to fix that? Btw...interesting post!

 
At Friday, April 05, 2013 , Blogger fiel-kun said...

ilang beses na ba tayong nagpalit ng presidente at mga opisyal sa pamahalaan pero bakit parang hanggang ngayon ay lugmok pa din sa kahirapan ang marami nating kababayan.

kawawa ung mga mahihirap na hindi kayang ipagamot ang kanilang mga sakit. kung may ginagawang hakbang ang ating pamahalaan tungkol jan, bakit tila hindi natin ramdam?

 
At Friday, April 05, 2013 , Blogger ventocoseuss said...

Mahirap nga naman ang tipong mamamatay na lang ang pasyente ng hindi man nakikita ng doktor, ni nurse or midwife man. It's the silent woes of poor people na dapat marinig ng gobyerno, hindi ang mabulaklak na salita ng mga politiko..

 
At Friday, April 05, 2013 , Blogger ventocoseuss said...

It's interesting how it's occurring in your country too. Job opportunities are way scarce here, so good doctors and nurses try to go abroad and test their luck there. The result - low quality healthcare. We are also workers, and I think that we can't do something about that, the least we can do is do our job well and be the best we can be.

There are people dying without even a dose of medicine, and that's the sad truth.

 
At Friday, April 05, 2013 , Blogger ventocoseuss said...

Kailangan nga transparent ang government when it comes to expenditures and income. However, it seems that the government, moreover the people behind it, are scared because they are still busy hiding the nasty truth. Anyway, happy blog birthday ulit! :D

 

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