As the Duterte presidency marks its second year, the country is anticipating the third State of the Nation Address and how the President will present how this administration has performed, and, we hope, give us a sense of the top priorities of government.
Less frequently reported but no less important are headways as far as health outcomes are concerned. President Duterte last week certified as priority a bill that mandates “universal” access to health care. The Universal Health Coverage bill was passed by the Lower House last year; a counterpart remains pending at the Senate.
Under the much-anticipated measure, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will be reconstituted into the Philippine Health Security Corp. and will serve as the state purchaser of health services, to which all citizens have access.
The move is certainly a step in the right direction. It acknowledges the obligation of the state to secure the health of its people, that it is more than a private and domestic concern. But the medical landscape is a complex one, and one disease appears to be more misunderstood and neglected than others: Cancer.
This is strange, considering how the disease is now the third leading cause of death in the Philippines. Latest data from the Department of Health’s Philippine Cancer Facts and Estimates even reveals an alarming increase in cancer incidence, up to 11 new cases and seven deaths every hour for adult cancers and 11 new cases and eight deaths per day for childhood cancer. This translates to some 110,000 new cancer cases and over 66,000 cancer deaths every year, excluding the unreported cases.
But beyond the numbers and statistics, as any family who has had to deal with serious illness would attest to, the emotional toll that comes with caring for a sick family member rivals only the financial stress associated with the high cost of private medical care in the Philippines. What can financially upset a middle-class household is an outright financial catastrophe for the poor, from which they may never recover.
A study by Dr. Hilton Lam, Director of UP Manila’s Institute of Health Policy and Development Studies, points out a number of factors that aggravate the situation. A typical Filipino patient, the study said, is diagnosed when their cancer has progressed to a later state—when the cost of care has risen and the odds of survival have narrowed. Multiply this experience a thousand fold—one out every 1,800 Filipinos is diagnosed each year—and the need for a national policy on cancer becomes indubitable.
To its credit, the DoH, through its Administrative Order 89-A series of 1990, has shown the state’s commitment to controlling cancer incidence among Filipinos, the study said. Among its recommendations is for the DoH to transform the AO into a proposed legislation that will increase the consistency of prioritization and budgeting as far as its cancer-related programs are concerned.
The proposed National Integrated Cancer Control Bill—Senate Bill 1850—satisfies this. Sponsored by Senate Committee on Health Chairman JV Ejercito, there is broad support for the important piece of legislation in the upper house by way of 15 senators: Loren Legarda, Nancy Binay, Sonny Angara, Frank Drilon, Migz Zubiri, Ralph Recto, Francis Pangilinan, Richard Gordon, Grace Poe, Sonny Trillanes, Win Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Cynthia Villar, Joel Villanueva, and Panfilo Lacson.
In the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Health, Rep. Helen Tan, had also approved the consolidated version of the Cancer Control Bill. Originally filed by Rep. Alfred Vargas, the bill has likewise garnered broad support, with almost 200 sponsors. It has been referred to the Committees on Appropriations, chaired by Rep. Karlo Nograles and then the Committee on Ways and Means chaired by Rep. Dax Cua.
Outside the halls of government, patient groups, medical societies, and a host of other health advocates have long been pushing for the passage of the bill. These include the Cancer Coalition Philippines, a broad national alliance of cancer patient support organizations, medical societies, and health advocates. For the group, only a holistic, integrated approach to cancer control can address the complexity of the phenomenon, from prevention, detection, and diagnosis, all the way to treatment, survivorship, and palliative care.
A national policy on cancer will also mean that no patient will be left behind. The proposed law guarantees this by addressing what it had identified as major gaps in the cancer treatment ecosystem, foremost the glaring need for more pathologists, oncologists, oncology-trained nurses, and cancer centers.
In response, the key provisions of the bill include the creation of a National Cancer Assistance Fund, with expanded availability and accessibility of essential medicines, the establishment of a national cancer registry and surveillance system, and support for persons with cancer and cancer survivors similar to that afforded to persons with disabilities.
With President Duterte’s expressed prioritization of the universal health coverage bill, it appears the government does understand the importance of a holistic and national approach to healthcare. As a special and urgent phenomenon, cancer deserves a similarly careful and specialized attention, which only a national integrated cancer control act can provide.
Cancer is such a difficult and sensitive issue to talk about. For decades it has not received the level of institutionalized support despite the alarming data. Hence a critical mass of stakeholders representing millions of Filipinos directly and indirectly affected by cancer are appealing our legislators to pass what would be one of the most significant landmark legislation of Congress for health.
Among the many interests that are competing for President Duterte’s political capital, making the National Integrated Cancer Control bill a top legislative priority will benefit the whole spectrum of Philippine society.
Pass the National Integrated Cancer Control bill into law!