P10M medicines for Cebu City barangay health centers sought
CEBU
CITY, July 28 (PNA) - Cebu City Councilor Ronald Cuenco is seeking the
appropriation of some P10 million for medicines for the barangay health
centers, after learning that the health centers have run out of
supplies.
Cuenco said providing medicines for the health centers is
seen to reduce the number of people going to City Hall for the medicines
alone every day.
Although the City Hospital and Medical Program (Champ) is
able to cater to the constituents’ medical needs, Cuenco wants to buy
medicines for the health centers so the people in the barangays don’t
have to go to City Hall and to the pharmacies to get medicines.
The city’s executive department is seeking an additional P30
million for the Champ, but the councilor said this will not be enough
to sustain the program until December, much less to fund the medicines
for the health centers.
Of the P30 million, P26 million is already obligated for
payment to the pharmacies for the previous months’ supply of medicines
for the Champ.
”What I think is that, instead of going to the pharmacy,
we’d rather put the medicines in the health centers… Let’s hasten the
release of the medicines so it won’t cause additional burden to the
people, so they don’t have to come her to City Hall and spend for their
far just to get medicines,” Cuenco said.
The first-term councilor plans to talk to the Commission on
Audit and the City Accounting Office on how to facilitate the proper
accounting of the medicines if they are entrusted to the health centers.
In a recent meeting, City Health Department (CHD) Head Dr.
Fe Cabugao reported to Cuenco that the health centers have run out of
medicines.
”I talked to Dr. Cabugao and I found out that there are no
more medicines in our health centers, so our constituents now depend on
the Champ. I still have to talk to Mayor Rama to request for an initial
amount of P10 million to be included in the next supplemental budget,”
said Cuenco. (PNA)
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