Hontiveros Vows to Champion CCT Law If Elected

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Health advocate and senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros today committed to file a bill that institutionalizes the Conditional Cash Transfer and expands its budget allocation beyond the current appropriation of more than 60 billion pesos.

“Ang CCT ay isang napakahalagang programa ng gobyerno kontra-kahirapan at kailangan ito ipagpatuloy, pero madami pang mga pwede gawin para ayusin lalo ang programa,” Hontiveros said. “Unahin na siguro natin ang improvement ng health facilities na nagseserbisyo sa ating CCT beneficiaries.”

According to Hontiveros, there are currently more than 4 million Filipinos who are under the 4Ps program, but less than half of all barangays in the Philippines have barangay health centers.

“Kahit na mataas ang reported compliance ng mga beneficiaries, kung hindi naman mabigyan ng maayos na health facilities and health providers, hindi natin mamaximize ang programa,” Hontiveros explained further.

“Halimbawa, ang mga facilities para sa pagpapacheck-up ng mga buntis ay napakakonti, at minsan kailangang magbyahe ng malayo para lang magpatingin. May mga balita din ng mga batang pumipila sa labas ng health center ng ilang oras para magpacheck ng attendance dahil kapos ang bilang ng mga health care providers.”

Hontiveros said that solving the supply side of the problem is necessary in order to catch up with unmet targets under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and meet targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). “Ano ang mga kailangang gawin? Expedite the establishment of birthing facilities, upgrade existing health care centers, and hire more health workers to ensure that when CCT beneficiaries comply with the conditionalities, services are available and adequate.”

Hontiveros further said that some gaps in the program also need to be addressed. “Halimbawa, under the current policy, only pregnant women at the time of household assessment are covered. Pregnancies that occurred after the assessment are no longer covered. Ibig sabihin madaming mga pagbubuntis ang hindi namomonitor”.

Running on a platform of universal health, Hontiveros said that CCT can be an important vehicle in delivering universal health care and can complement other health interventions of the government. “Ang kalusugang pangkalahatan ay abot-kamay, isulong natin ang mga reporma para mapabilis ang pagkamit natin nito.”