Courtesy: Office of Akbayan Rep Chel Diokno
AKBAYAN Partylist Rep. Chel Diokno has filed a House resolution urging the House Committee on Public Accounts, Committee on Health, and other appropriate committees to investigate alleged irregularities and inefficiencies in the Department of Health’s (DOH) Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP). The HFEP has received billions of pesos in funding over the past decade.
Diokno filed House Resolution No. 351 together with his fellow Akbayan Reform Bloc members—Akbayan Partylist Representatives Perci Cendaña, Dadah Kiram Ismula, and Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao.
The HFEP involves the construction, rehabilitation, and upgrading of barangay health stations, rural health units, and other medical facilities in various areas across the country.
The resolution seeks to determine why numerous government-funded health centers remain nonfunctional or underutilized, despite massive budget allocations intended to improve access to healthcare facilities nationwide.
“This is a matter that needs to be looked into because the health of the Filipino people is at stake. Hundreds of billions of pesos have been allotted for this program, yet it has not delivered on its promise of accessible healthcare for our countrymen,” Diokno said.
Based on records, the program’s budget has expanded significantly from only P43.5 million in 2007 to as much as P34.7 billion in 2025, with a cumulative allocation of P241.4 billion in the past 18 years.
During budget hearings, the DOH disclosed that a total of P400 billion had been released to local government units (LGUs) over the last ten years under the HFEP, including additional allocations for commodities and human resources.
Despite its huge budget, the DOH admitted that only 200 out of 600 health centers are currently functional. Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa even described these nonfunctional facilities as the “flood control version” of the DOH.
“These irregularities undermine the objectives of Republic Act No. 11223, otherwise known as the Universal Health Care Act, which guarantees equitable access to quality healthcare for all Filipinos,” the resolution said.
“Congress, as the body vested with the power of the purse and oversight, has the duty to ensure that funds appropriated for public health infrastructure are properly utilized and that inefficiencies and irregularities in the implementation of the Health Facilities Enhancement Program are addressed through legislative reforms and accountability measures,” it added
