CONGRATULATIONS to Third District Councilor Petite Principe for the realization of her project that addresses the needs of children with unusual kinds of disabilities.
In a recent unexpected meeting, Councilor Principe told us that the building housing the center for such kind of children in Davao City is now operational, and most equipment needed to help in addressing their needs has already been acquired and installed.
In fact, according to the lawyer-lady councilor, a good number of children are already served by the center. The problem, though, is that the facility still lacks the manpower with the appropriate skills to handle the tasks required in responding to these kinds of children’s needs.
When we brought the idea to her to work on the possibility of the City Council providing additional regular positions to be filled with professionals who can carry on the required service at the center, the local lawmaker sadly admitted that the professionals who have the skills are not willing to apply.
When asked why, she said that, based on existing salary ranges, the pay for new entrants is much lower compared to that of other private employers requiring professional skills.
If such is the case, the city may have to resort to conducting training for those interested so that the Principe project will not go down the drain.
Yes, without personnel equipped with the needed skills to handle the mentally-impaired children, the center is likely to end up like many of the country’s barangay health centers and some district hospitals.
Many of the said health centers and district hospitals are just structures. These are not manned by doctors, nurses, or even midwives. And worst, even if there are visiting health professionals every now and then, the centers do not have medicines for villagers found with illnesses after consultations done thereat.
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What agency is responsible for the 100.82 percent coverage of Davao City’s population with health insurance by the government? Of course, it can be no other than the Philippine Health Insurance System or PhilHealth. The agency must be so efficient. Imagine being able to cover over one hundred percent of the city’s qualified population!
Assuming that this report is true, how come that most residents in the highlands still mouth the same complaint that bringing their patients to hospitals is hardly an option for them, even if they are already in precarious conditions.
The reason is that they do not have money or that they have no idea where to seek assistance or who to approach for financial help.
Does this mean that many of the 100.82 percent with PhilHealth coverage do not know that they are covered? So, what ills? Possibly the agency concerned, and even the government, local and national, are unable to back this very laudable program of providing health insurance coverage to every Filipino citizen with the proper information dissemination drive.
How then will such a government program serve its purpose if the beneficiaries are not made aware that it exists?
And by the way, how did the PhilHealth arrive at the 100.82 percent health insurance coverage of the people in Davao City?
Who comprises the .82 percent in excess of the 100 percent qualified population?
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Remember that a few weeks back, we wrote in our column the issue of Davao City not just being back as an illegal and prohibited drugs distribution center, but also fast becoming the haven of cigarette smugglers?
This assessment of ours appears validated with the confiscation of smuggled cigarettes worth P14.6 million in Barangay Dumoy, Talomo district, last Tuesday, Oct. 21. The confiscation and arrest of four men were conducted by an inter-agency team of law enforcers.
It was also the biggest catch ever made in Davao City over a period of roughly two months only. With such boldness of the smugglers to do their illegal trade in the city, there is the possibility that they may already have established some “connection” with influential officials whom they can run to should their trade be interfered with.
Maybe this apparent surge in smuggling activities in the city deserves Mayor Baste Duterte’s special attention.
