On the occasion of the Philippines’ 116th Independence Day
(Philippines) — “Prosecute and make accountable all those who are involved in the pork barrel scam!”
This is the battle cry of health professionals, community health workers and people’s health advocates joining today’s protest for the abolition of the pork barrel system and the increase of allocation of funds to health care and other basic social services.
“The people and the health sector have had enough of the massive thievery through the pork barrel system that Mr. Noynoy Aquino and his cronies have done to the Filipino people,” said Robert Mendoza, co-convener of the Rx: Abolish Pork Barrel System Movement.
Mendoza declared that Mr. Aquino, his cabinet members such as Butch Abad, Proseso Alcala, Joel Villanueva and the rest of his cronies’ personal interests are so compelling that it subsumes what is right and just.
“How can government officials and members stomach the painful realities that plague the nation like thousands of critically ill patients being turned away in public hospitals because of lack of money, hospitals beds and/or attending doctors and nurses; that there are only 17,000 Barangay Health Stations (BHS) out of 42,000 barangays in the country, not enough to provide primary health services in the cities and countrysides; that 72 public hospitals including the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC) and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) are up for privatization that will make health care services profit-oriented and expensive for the poor; that hundreds of thousands of nurses remain unemployed despite the country’s massive lack of public health nurses; that 7 out of 10 Filipinos die without ever seeing a doctor; and, 70% of the Filipino population are not able to buy essential medicines simply because they don’t have the money for it,” Mendoza expressed.
Rx Abolish Pork Barrel System Movement tagged Mr. Aquino’s message today published in a major broad sheet “eliminating greed and corruption” from society as hypocritical and insulting. Mendoza claimed that “he people know more than what they (Aquino government) want us to believe. We have had enough!”
Rallying under the tagline, “Lahat ng sangkot dapat managot!” Rx Abolish Pork Barrel System Movement is a group of doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, health science students, community health workers, people’s organizations and people’s health advocates fighting for prosecution and accountability of all those involved in the systemic corruption within the government led by pork barrel king Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino.
Reference:
Robert Mendoza
Co-Convener
0921-2073631
