Kristel Rose R.

Tapia
PSC22
Jumel G. Estrañero (Sir. Stranger)
Ethics

The Nexus of Healthcare Access: Fundamental Rights Versus Privileged Access

in Langkaan II, Dasmariñas City, Cavite

Prelude
It is the government’s obligation to provide required medical care to all citizens, regardless of
their financial capacity to afford it, mainly because everyone has a right to health. The right to health
necessitates the development of laws and strategic plans by the system in order to provide universal
access to health care. Access to healthcare is a critical social obligation; because of its socio-economic
character, demand for it frequently includes not just individual but also communal issues that must be
considered, requiring the sharing of consumer resources (Jowett and Hsiao, 2007). The flaws inside
the medical market, such as health risk and uncertainty, inadequate information, restricted competition,
external impacts, and also the production of common goods, that result in special economic relations,
require the development of suitable control frameworks.
Access to essential healthcare services in the Philippines continues to be a big issue. This is
primarily due to a lack of healthcare facilities and their uneven distribution across the country. The
Philippine healthcare system is described by the World Health Organization as "fragmented," with a
history of unjust and uneven access to health services that disproportionately impact the poor. The
government invests very little money in the program, resulting in significant out-of-pocket costs and
widening the wealth divide.
Almost all of the Philippines' 90 million citizens do not have access to basic healthcare. The
country has a high percentage of maternal and child mortality, as well as a higher incidence of fertility.
This causes issues for people who have very restricted access to this fundamental treatment or who are
in generally poor health. Several rounds of reform have been undertaken to enhance the country's
health system. In 1991, the Philippines embraced decentralized health governance, and in 1995, it
launched Phil Health, a social health insurance program. Since 2010, the Philippines has aggressively
sought universal health care. As a result of its concentration on the health sector and general
socioeconomic growth, the Philippines has made considerable advances in life expectancy and
vaccination coverage. One approach to paying for health-care services is through social health
insurance. Its goal is to eliminate health disparities by providing low-income households with free
medical care. Social health insurance, according to traditional economic theory, enhances the
utilization of medical treatment by lowering the cost of care for disadvantaged people (Trujillo et al.
(2005)). Buchmueller et al. (2005) and Hadley (2003), among others, have proven that this notion
holds true in industrialized countries.
The Philippines is a major exporter of health practitioners, but securing enough accessibility
inside the country is a challenge. The health budget's use has increased over time, but governance and
management issues remain due to the system's fragmentation. The healthcare system in the nation is
mixed, with a growing private sector. Private health facilities are frequently the first choice for Filipino
families that can afford them. The quality of care provided by private institutions is superior to that
provided by public facilities, which are typically used by low-income families (National Statistics
Office, 2013). Public amenities are usually found in more rural locations. There is a shortage of
medical personnel and supplies in these hospitals. Only 30% of government-employed health
practitioners attend to the majority's medical requirements. Because the remaining 70% of medical
practitioners in the Philippines work in the more expensive, privately managed industries, healthcare
in the Philippines suffer. There is no efficient way to govern for-profit healthcare providers in the
private sector. Out-of-pocket costs account for more than half of all healthcare expenses. The
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has expanded its coverage throughout time,
although not all eligible members are informed of the program's benefits. There is no efficient system
in place to monitor facility certification and control service costs and quality.

Efforts to enhance health care delivery across the country have been extensive, but
geographical and economic disparities in resource availability and accessibility remain significant.
Infrastructure and human resources are unevenly distributed among and within regions, with the
majority concentrated in Metro Manila and other big cities. Although there have been many attempts
to improve access to basic healthcare in the country, many implications still continue to emerge, mainly
because of the poor governance the people have been suffering from for how many years already.

This study aims to identify if access to healthcare is a fundamental right or privilege,

specifically in the community of Langkaan II, Dasmarinas City, Cavite.

Body (further facts)

Health is an important aspect of human growth. According to Sen (2002), "health is one of the
most fundamental conditions of human life and a crucially important ingredient of human capacities."
Human development is dependent on good health. A strong and well-trained labor draws investments
and accelerates economic growth. As a result, governments must guarantee that their health-care
systems provide quality support to their populations. Where the system depends on both public and
private suppliers, efficient coordination between the sectors — is required. In the Philippines, where
imbalance in healthcare outcomes and resource allocation has been a significant problem,
policymakers have struggled to devise a progressive and successful response. Gaps arise when
inequalities in health care systems, as well as their drivers, are judged preventable, unfair, and unjust.
As a result, not all health inequalities across subgroups are considered inequities (Son 2009).
Inequities, in particular, are frequently impacted by factors such as income, wealth, educational level,
employment, gender, geographical region, and ethnicity.
In the study of Kim and Laoyzaga (2018), they found that disparities in healthcare access and
population health between poor and wealthy individuals exist in many nations. The poor are frequently
placed in a scenario: they have higher healthcare requirements but poorer access to health service
consumption. When a household suffers a rise in health expenditures owing to sickness, out-of-pocket
health spending throws a large strain not only on the poor but also on individuals in the middle class.
As a result, the goal of universal health insurance is to give access to high-quality care while
minimizing financial difficulties. Primary and preventative health care should be provided as a
country's resources increase, but more specialized treatments might also be offered.
 In terms of Philippine healthcare outcomes, the disparities between the top and weakest
performing subgroups remain and, in some cases, grow with time. As in other nations where health
systems were delegated to local governments, observable differences in health outcomes at the
province level (i.e., variance in life expectancy) may also hint to variability in local government
efficiency. Delegation of authority is a feature of the Philippines' Local Government Code of 1991 that
devolved the country's healthcare system from the national to local governmental agencies. Its primary
focus is to enhance service quality by moving it close to the people. The Department of Health (DOH)
delegated important public health services, and all other related assets, liabilities, machinery, people,
and records, to local government agencies (Doorslaer et. al., 2005).

However, as prior research has demonstrated (Furtado 2001; Lakshminarayanan 2003),

decentralization somehow doesn't necessarily result in improved equality, efficiency, and effectiveness
in health-care delivery. In reality, devolution has resulted in a decline in the quality of health services
in parts of the Philippines' poorest local government units. This comprises policy initiatives from a
centralized government agency aimed at the provinces with the weakest performance. Additional
research would've been required to examine and find the most suitable health service method in the
setting of the Philippines. Delegation of health care services should ideally be complemented by
greater capability and/or responsibility on the side of health centers and the LGUs in charge of them.
Moreover, a shortage of healthcare experts and their uneven distribution, an underinvestment in
healthcare system facilities, and geographic location inaccessibility to healthcare facilities in remote
locations appear to be some of the fundamental contributing factors to widening disparities in health
care in Philippine local government units. Concentrating on these topics and making concerted efforts
to address the obstacles that arise as a result of these concerns might assist enhance quality of
healthcare and, as a result, reduce inequities.

More equitable and comprehensive public health assistance, particularly through PhilHealth,
the country's principal public insurance system, and private health insurers, is a persistent concern in
the Philippines, as it is in other developing nations (Carrin and James 2005).
It is clear that the Philippines, along with many other middle-income nations, has made significant
progress toward the Millennium Development Goals, as seen by improvements in overall medical
status over time, significant disparity in health outcomes across economic level remains. Poor
households bear the brunt of the financial implications and increased mortality risks. Wealth-related
disparity persists and seems to be significantly linked to critical healthcare services and socioeconomic
factors. The uneven distribution of basic healthcare, especially institution distribution, has been proven
to contribute to the enormous differences in death rates between the poorest and richest families (Kraft
et al. 2013). Aggressive pro-poor policy measures focusing on facility-based distribution might be
critical in reducing death rates among poor families even more.

Analysis

Respondent 1: Romina Magayon, 46, female, vegetable vendor.

Mrs. Magayon: ‘Yung free check up siguro sa barangay na minsanan lang kung makaranas. Saka
kung matuturing na healthcare services yung pagbibigay nila ng libreng bakuna sa mga anak ko, ‘yun,
naranasan din namin ‘yon. Sa mga process process naman na ‘yan, kadalasan eh humihingi sila ng
mga dokumento saka ID. Tatawagan ka mga tatlong araw siguro pagkatapos mong mag-apply sa mga
papeles na kailangan mong i-fill up daw. Matagal ‘yung proseso. Isang beses nga ‘yung anak kong
na-asthma hindi agad nakatanggap ng tulong kasi hindi daw kami kumpleto sa mga dokumento.
Masasabi ko lang eh mahihirapan ka talagang mag-access access sa mga proyekto ng gobyerno diyan
sa healthcare na ‘yan.

Mrs. Magayon is one of the average worker in the country which do not have every source and
connection to have an access in the healthcare system of the country. Because of their incomplete legal
documents, which are important in healthcare services requirements, they could not get the immediate
medical attention that they need. It shows that lower class families struggle the most in getting
accommodated as they are not as equipped as middle and upper class in terms of dealing with papers,
documents, and such.

Respondent 2: Jhayson Rañola, 33, male, fish vendor.

Mr. Rañola: Sa court natin diyan, mayroong mga nagvo-volunteer na nurse saka doctor na sinusukat
‘yung BP ng mga senior citizen. Hindi pa naman ako senior citizen pero naranasan ko na ‘yon. Tapos
siguro mga 2021 nakatanggap kami ng tulong nung kinailangan ng pera pangpagamot, basta
nagkasakit ako no’n malakas kasi uminom e. Sa GMF ata ako pinagamot no’n kung ‘di ako
nagkakamali. Misis ko ang nagasikaso ng mga proseso, iba’t-ibang dokumento, mga nagpapatunay
na taga-Dasma ako mga gano’n. Medyo matagal din, madami din kasing pasyente no’n kaya siguro
matagal bago ako naasikaso. ‘Yang sistema natin, limitado, kaya nagu-unahan talaga mga tao diyan.
Maiintindihan mo naman kung bakit limitado, kurap ba naman gobyerno natin saka parang nasanay
na din ako na pahirapan mga prosesong pagdadaanan mo kapag wala kang pera.

Mr. Rañola as well, experienced a delay in getting medical assistance because of the many
requirements that they needed to fulfill first. Just like what he said, limited resources mean limited
services for the people. He also mentioned that because of the situation in the healthcare system, he is
now used to how the process works. His statement shows that underprivileged people, being neglected
by the government, are the most affected by the lack of availability and resources. Hence, they are
immune as there has been no progress and effective solution to the problem for a long time now.

Respondent 3: Robert Asuncion, 45, male, fish vendor.

Mr. Asuncion: Tulad din ng kay pareng Son (Jhayson), sabay kasi kami niyang no’n mag-pasukat ng
blood pressure. Saka nakatanggap pamilya ko dati ng mga vitamins, iba’t-ibang vitamins galing daw
sa barangay saka sa isang ospital, donate ata. Hindi naman gaanong mahaba ‘yung proseso kasi libre
naman, kinailangan ko lang gawin eh pumila. Mahaba ‘yung pila, oo, kaya medyo nagtagal kami do’n
pero ayos na din, kaysa naman pumila ka ng mahaba sa mga clinic tas may bayad pa. Dito libre na
lang. Sa akin naman, agree ako kay Son kasi kita mo naman ‘yan sa mga balita sa TV. Alam naman
natin sitwasyon ng Pilipinas.

Mr. Asuncion’s experience is considered a bare minimum, as everyone has a right to health.
Also, his family has received the vitamins for some time now, meaning that it’s not consistent and
continuous. Just like Mr. Ranola, Mr. Asuncion also highlighted the lack of a sense of responsibility
by the government. This shows that ordinary people like them know the reality and will just accept
how the system works even after being the victim of it.

Respondent 4: Keilyn Roncesvalles, 38, female, accountant.

Mrs. Roncesvalles: Basic healthcare services that I experienced, was of course kapag nagpapa-
consult ako with my doctor. Syempre tumatanda kaya our health needs to be monitored at all times
talaga. My newphew, once, we needed to get him an immediate medical assistance kasi he was
experiencing stomach aches that time. So far, we did not have that much trouble nor problem. Kaya
naman, kumbaga afford naman kaya smooth ‘yung pagpapa-admit namin sa kaniya sa hospital. For
the process, not much, I remember kasi, we were inquiring for a room para malipat siya and makapag
pahinga. We signed some health documents lang then paid the bills bago kami umuwi. As I said, naging
smooth naman ‘yung paga-accommodate sa ‘min. Whilst my family don’t really have a hard time in
terms of healthcare, I do understand na
‘yung ibang family talaga is struggling. Healthcare services is different in private and public hospitals;
the facilities are very different. I think the flaw is that limited talaga ang services here in the
Philippines. Kumbaga, ang daming may kailangan, pero kulang ang resources.

Mrs. Roncesvalles, on the other hand, had it easy as she was one of the few people who could
afford the high prices of healthcare services. As her experience showed, social status and financial
capability to pay do play a big role in the healthcare system.

Respondent 5: Khristin Legaspi, 29, female, business owner.

Mrs. Legaspi: Hindi ko talaga malilimutan is noong naadmit ako kasi nagkaroon ako ng
gastroenteritis. Sa private hospital ako nagpa-admit kasi wala na daw available bed
eh ‘yung gusto ng husband ko, kuhanan ako ng room. Sa process, for me, hindi naman masyadong
madami, kumabag bearable naman siya considering na busy din kami both ng husband ko. Hindi siya
time consuming for us. Requirements, documents lang which is usually naman ay complete kaming
mag-asawa. Hindi naman, mabilis lang kami naasikaso so ayun, naagapan ‘yung pain ko. I would say
na it’s recommended only for those who can afford it. Baliktarin man natin ang mundo, ganiyan reality
ngayon eh. I just hope na sa administration ngayon, maayos nila ‘yan, mabigyan ng equal
opportunities ang every Filipino citizen.

Mrs. Legaspi, like Mrs. Roncesvalles, can afford to inquire in a private hospital. She is also
complete in documents; hence it was easy for her to get medical assistance. She mentioned that going
to private hospitals is recommended only for those who can afford it, which we can see in reality.
While having privilege, she is also very aware of the underlying problems in our healthcare system.

Respondent 6: Elsa Reyes, 40, female, ukay-ukay owner.

Mrs. Dela Fuente: Kakapunta ko lang sa dentist last month siguro. Sobrang sakit na kasi nung wisdom
tooth ba ‘yun kaya talagang nagpunta na ako. Mahal nga eh. Sa process, oo, konti lang naman. May
pinirmahan ako no’n eh pero saglit lang naman. Requirement siguro syempre pambayad. Sa private
ako nagpa-dentista kasi sabi ng biyenan ko, mas maganda daw kung private, mas mamahalin daw
mga gamit nila do’n eh. Konti lang kaming pasyente no’n kaya hindi naman masyadong matagal pero
‘yun nga, mahal lang siya. Parang kalahati ata ng buong linggong kita ko ‘yung nagastos.
Nanghihinayang pero ayos na din ‘di ba kaysa magtiis gabi-gabi sa sakit. Hindi ako makakapagsalita
para sa lahat ng Pilipino, pero alam kong pribilehiyo ‘yang mga ganiyang serbisyo.

Mrs. Dela Fuente’s experience shows that while some families can afford to pay bills to private
hospitals, it will take a toll on their budgeted expenses; hence, they would need to work twice as hard
so they can compensate for the expensive bill that they paid.

Respondent 7: Matthew Raniel, 53, male, meat vendor.

Mr. Raniel: Libreng check up, ‘yun naman ‘yung kadalasan na inaalok sa ‘ting mga tao. Sa proseso,
konti lang, ID lang ata hinihingi nila do’n kung hindi ako nagkakamali. Pumila lang din, pipila lang
‘yon kasi pumila lang kami ng misis ko. Saka ayun pa pala, noong nanganak asawa ko, sa St. Paul
siya nanganak no’n eh. Hindi na kasi uso ‘yung mga madrona, kaya nagpa-ospital kami. Buntis siya
eh kaya mabilis naman kaming inasikaso do’n sa ospital. Nako, basta mahal. Sobrang magastos lalo
na no’n wala pa akong permanenteng pinagkakakitaan, suntok sa buwan talaga kung saan kukuha ng
pambayad. Saka noong lumabas na ‘yung pangatlo namin, madaming kailangang bilhin. Hindi na din
namin napacheck-up ‘yung anak namin kasi 600 ata kada check-up sa mga public na ospital. Awa ng
Diyos, malusog naman siya, hindi gaanong nagkasakit. Pero hindi naman lahat ng mga magulang
maswerte na malusog mga anak nila, kaya ‘di ba paano ‘yung mga maliliit na nga ‘yung kita tapos
sakitin pa mga anak. Kaya wala, mahal talaga.

Mr. Raniel compared his experience to others because he knows the struggle of a parent. His
statement showed that even children, especially children, are victims of the unequal distribution of
healthcare services. The urgency of his wife’s situation played a role in how they were accommodated.
The question that sparked from that was "what if the situation is not as urgent as it has to be?"

Respondent 8: Nica Jane Mojica, 32, female, sari-sari store owner.

Ms. Mojica: Nung nagkasakit si mama, pinatingin namin siya sa doktor. Ay madaming proseso, ‘di
ko na matandaan ‘yung iba pero madami kaming papeles na inasikaso noon e. Humingi din kasi kami
ng tulong financial sa barangay no’n. Para sa akin medyo matagal kasi naghintay pa kami no’n ng
available na doktor kasi konti lang daw doktor nila no’n, konti daw nakaduty. Matagal saka medyo
may pagka-mabagal. Magastos. Madaming babayaran, checkup, mga gamot, bayad sa kwarto,
pamasahe. Madami kang iintindihin na bayarin, nag-aalala ka na sa nanay mo at the same time
inaalala mo pa ‘yung pera. Hindi kami mapera.

Ms. Mojica’s experience showed that there is indeed a shortage in public hospitals’ staff that
caused a bit of delay in her mother’s treatment. Because many
Filipino professionals choose to work abroad, the quality of service in the Philippines is very much
affected. She is also one of the many Filipino citizens who carry the burden of not having enough
money to pay for healthcare services.

Respondent 9: Dianne Castro, 31, female, freelance artist.

Ms. Castro: Most recent was when I got COVID-19. I was admitted sa private hospital kasi as in,
punuan sa public. My partner paid for everything naman so nasettled ‘yung bills without worry. I
would say na yes, I was accommodated immediately. For me, although my experience is okay naman,
the healthcare system in the Philippines is very unfortunate.

Ms. Castro, despite being a freelance artist, which we know is a very diverse profession as the
income is not that stable, was still able to afford a room in a private hospital as she belongs to a
privileged family. Despite her social status, she is also aware of reality in terms of our healthcare
system. Ms. Castro is one of the few members of society who do not struggle with accessing the
healthcare system as she has every means and resources to do so.

Respondent 10: Patrick De Jesus, 36, male, tricycle driver.

Mr. De Jesus: Naaksidente ‘yung kapatid ko, kasi namamasada din siya, siya lang ‘yung sakay no’n,
buti na lang. Kinailangan dalhin sa ospital, ayun putol ‘yung isang binti. Ngayon nagtitinda na siya
ng mga karne. Hindi kami makabili nung pekeng binti, ‘yung may bakal, ‘yung ginagamit ng ibang
tao para makalakad. Hindi na namin kinaya ‘yung bayad sa ospital kasi inoperahan siya. May mga
gamot pa kaming binili, eh wala naman din kasing kinakasama ‘yung kapatid ko kaya kami lang
malalapitan niya. ‘Yung isa naming kapatid nagasikaso ng mga papeles, teacher ‘yun eh mas
maalaman siya sa mga gano’n. Pinansin agad naman kami ng mga nurse do’n kasi malala na din
lagay ng kapatid ko eh. Masakit sa bulsa. ‘Yun lang, magagamot ka o ‘di kaya ‘yung pamilya mo pero
parang maghihirap naman kayo lalo na kung walang mga benepisyo. Mahal magpagamot.

Mr. De Jesus mentioned that they do not have or receive benefits to lessen their problem with
health expenses. The experience of his brother showed that it is hard enough for people to get sick or
involved in any accident, more so if you belong to the working class with a minimum wage.

Recommendation

1. Simplify the requirements needed to access our healthcare system.

The government and the Department of Health should make healthcare services more
accessible by not complicating the requirements and documents needed to be able to get the assistance
that we need. This would help many families, especially those in the lower and middle classes. Hence,
it will be easier for them to ask for immediate medical assistance without worrying about ID’s,
documents, and such, so they will have more time to focus on their situation and problems. These
families do not have the same privileges as the upper class; they do not have the time to take care of
and mind paperwork because they are too busy hustling. If the government and DOH could make this
happen, meaning that it would be applicable to anyone regardless of their social status, everyone would
be guaranteed equitable access to quality and affordable health care goods as well as readily available
health services that are suitable to their needs.

2. Financial capability of families must be given a consideration

The underprivileged families are mostly the victims of the uneven distribution of healthcare
services. Their financial capabilities must be given consideration, meaning that more and more benefits
should be given to them. This is to recognize the huge gap that upper and lower class families have.
Lower-income families should have easy access to public hospitals because they cannot afford to
inquire in private ones. They should be the priority of public hospitals as they need more free services.
If we fully recognize that there is a massive gap in the social status of every family and take action to
minimize this gap, then every family could have had the same privileges as everyone else, particularly
access to our country's healthcare system.

3. The government should create a progressive plan in solving the disparities in our
healthcare system.

A shortage of healthcare experts and their unequal distribution, underinvestment in healthcare

system facilities, and geographic location poor accessibility to healthcare facilities in rural parts have
seemed to be some of the fundamental factors involved to widening health disparities in Philippine
local government units. Large fund must be used in order to solve these problems. The needed fund
should also be distributed equally in every local government unit. Means that we should invest more
on making our healthcare experts work inside the country, improve our health facilities, equally
distribute the resources, and build easily accessible facilities in rural areas of the country.
 Requiem

Insufficient assistance in terms of providing basic healthcare to the people living in the
community of Langkaan II affects the lives of many families, especially children. 7 out of 10
participants that we interviewed experienced a very long process of inquiring for healthcare assistance
before they were accommodated by the local barangay. Aling Romina, 46 years old, said that when
her eldest needed to be taken to the hospital due to asthma, the barangay officers declined her call for
help as they reasoned out that she did not have an ID for a certain requirement or a social health
insurance. She and her husband ended up taking their child to a private hospital and were charged for
almost 17,000. Both she and her husband work as vegetable vendors and have a monthly income of
between $15,000 and $20,000. Almost a week after the incident, the barangay later on provided
assistance such as medicine and a set of nebulizers. Her husband needed to comply with the said
requirements first before getting such help. The situation of Aling Romina proved the study of Kim
and Laoyzaga (2018) where they stated that disparities in healthcare persist. The poor are frequently
placed in a scenario where they have higher healthcare requirements but poorer access to health service
consumption.

Social status is an important factor in accessing our healthcare system. Mrs. Roncesvalles,
an accountant, is one of our participants. In her case, she needed immediate medical assistance as her
nephew continuously experienced stomach aches. According to her, they did not have that much
trouble being accommodated when they went to the hospital. Mrs. Roncesvalles has a monthly income
of 35-40,000. Her ID’s, legal documents, and credentials are updated and complete, according to her.
If we were to compare the situations of Aling Romina and Mrs. Roncesvalles, we could see the evident
difference in their social status. While Mrs. Roncesvalles is an established person who has all the
means and resources to make sure that her ID’s, legal documents, and credentials are complete and up-
to-date. Because of her capability to do so, she did not have any problems accessing our healthcare
system, mainly because she could afford to. Meanwhile, aling Romina works day and night but still
could not easily afford to inquire in a private hospital. She is a busy mother of four children, and it is
understandable that she and her husband do not have all the time to make sure that their ID’s, legal
documents, and credentials are complete as they are too busy making ends meet. In the study of Kraft
(2013) he stated that poor households bear the brunt of the financial implications and increased
mortality risks. The wealth-related disparity persists and seems to be significantly linked to critical
healthcare services and socioeconomic factors.

Changing the country’s healthcare system from national to local governmental agencies
is not that effective to improve the quality of healthcare service. The Philippines' Local
Government Code of 1991, which devolved the country's healthcare system from national to local
governmental entities, includes delegation of authority. Its main goal is to improve service quality by
bringing it closer to the people. Important public health services, as well as all related assets, expenses,
equipment, employees, and records, were delegated to local government entities by the Department of
Health (DOH). However, in a research by Furtado (2001), decentralization does not always imply more
equality, efficiency, or efficacy in healthcare delivery. Devolution has, in practice, resulted in a
decrease in the quality of health care in some of the Philippines' poorest local government units. This
includes centralized government policy actions focused at the provinces with some of the worst
performance.
 Overall, the Philippines as a major exporter of health professional all around the world is
struggling to provide enough healthcare accessibility (National Statistics Office, 2013). Because of the
shortage of medical practitioners, there is also a shortage in terms of sufficient healthcare services. The
underlying cause of these shortage is because Filipino medical professionals choose to work in another
country as their monthly wage there is much more than what the Philippines could offer. As most of
them are underpaid despite working all day, they choose to migrate and this migration affects our
healthcare system poorly. The less doctors and nurses, the less service there will be. Underinvestment
in healthcare facilities is also one of the factors why there is disparities in the system. There is not
enough equipment to serve the patients, and the government also takes a long time to decide for the
budget that public hospitals would need to assist the people. Because of the insufficient rooms and
equipment, public hospitals are forced to limit the number of patients that they can accommodate. This
results to lower class families going to expensive private hospitals just so they could get treatment.
The poor are always the one in the receiving end of these disparities. The needed requirements to meet
is increasing the burden of lower class families in dealing with health issues. While security is
important as to why these requirements are needed, it is also expensive to take care of them as well as
time consuming. Middle and upper class families could afford to make sure that their legal documents
are well taken care of especially when they are needed. These requirements are burdening the poor
with responsibilities and it usually delays the healthcare service that they urgently need.

Message to Professor:
Hi, Sir Stranger! Looking back at our meetings, I would say that I wasn’t the brightest in your class,
but I was definitely the best photobomber! (based on our class documentations hehe) Jokes aside, I
sincerely enjoyed listening to your lessons. I remember being shocked when you got up to the teacher’s
table; I was instantly reminded of that one scene from Dead Poet’s Society. From that moment, I knew
our Saturdays would not be the same, hahaha. I remember what you told us: “Guys, maging ethical
kayo sa buhay.” That reminder will always be with me wherever I go. So, thank you, Sir Stranger, for
your existence, lessons, jokes, experiences, and consideration to all of us. You are truly one of the best
professors I’ve ever met.
See you around po! <333
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