THE MILITANT group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Panay lambasts the Department of Health (DOH) for its plan to pullout doctors to the barrios (DTTBs) from their respective rural health stations to be augmented in Cebu as cases of COVID-19 continue arising.
This mission is detrimental to our doctors because of the continued negligence of the Duterte administration for their health and safety. Likewise, the DOH is putting at risk the situation of the people where our DTTBs are situated by pulling them away.
The act also speaks of continuing abandonment of the Duterte administration towards our healthcare system that instead of deploying DTTBs to Cebu, they could have hired more health professionals, ensuring their safety and giving them just wages and proper benefits.
The act by the DOH also violates the contract signed by DTTBs wherein there is no provision that they can be deployed anytime to other areas, much more to a private hospital when their mandate is serving the less privileged in areas where healthcare is nil to none.
Bayan Panay strongly calls for all health professionals to protest this new scheme by the Duterte administration and demand for greater health subsidy and services.
Duterte should stop prioritizing its attacks against dissenters and progressive groups and should rechannel the billions budget of the military and police to buy more PPEs and test kits, and provide financial and food aid for millions who cannot return to work.
Bayan Panay reiterates that health professionals and not military officials should lead the response against COVID-19. The three months we’ve experienced under Duterte’s military officials truly exposes their incompetence and lack of empathy towards the people.
Ultimately, to end the spate of extrajudicial killings and rampant violation of human rights and stop the militaristic response towards COVID-19, Duterte has to go. People must select new leaders that would propel the country towards peace, democracy, and national liberation. – ELMER FORRO, secretary general, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Panay
