<\/p>\n
SENATOR Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed a proposal mandating all local government units (LGUs) to set aside a portion of their national tax allotment share to make medicines for indigent patients free of charge.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Kadalasang libre ang konsultasyon at hospitalization sa mga pampublikong ospital, health care centers o clinics. Pero nawawalan naman ng saysay ang pagkonsulta nila sa mga doktor o pagpapagamot dahil sa kakapusan sa pambili ng mga inireseta sa kanila na mga gamot,” Estrada said.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In his Senate Bill No. 1029, Estrada proposed to require LGUs to earmark a portion of their National Tax Allotments (NTA) for appropriation for free medicines to be distributed to the public hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, or other outlets to indigent patients in their localities.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Under Section 284 of Republic Act No. 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code, local government units are entitled to a 40% share of the national revenue taxes or the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), which is now referred to as NTA.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The NTA of local government units is the quick source of funding for free medicines for the benefit of indigent patients in their own localities.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Studies have indicated that medicines in the country are 5% to 30% higher in price compared to other countries in Asia, making it more difficult for indigent patients to have access to needed medicines.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n To ensure access to free medicines, Estrada said government hospitals and clinics will be required to establish their own pharmacy or outlets for the dispensation of the free medicines.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The LGUs, local social welfare department, and barangay officials shall identify and maintain a list of indigent patients to ensure that the free medicines are properly dispensed to deserving recipients, he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Imprisonment of two to seven years will be meted against those who will manufacture a list or issue certifications to fake indigent patients, Estrada said.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The same penalty will be imposed against those involved in irregularities in the acquisition and distribution of free medicines, he added.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SENATOR Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed a proposal mandating all local government units (LGUs) to set aside a portion of their national tax allotment share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3638"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3640,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3638\/revisions\/3640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}