A congressional leader has urged Congress to increase funding for the infectious healthcare waste program of the Environmental Management Bureau under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (EMB-DENR).
House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin made the appeal as she noted the country continues to struggle with its COVID-19 medical waste more than two years since the pandemic hit.
The Department of Budget and Management has approved a P1.22 billion budget for the EMB-Environmental Regulations and Pollution Control Program under the DENR 2023 proposed budget, which is P1.53 billion or 55.7% less than its allocation of P2.75 billion in 2022.
Because of the funding cuts, programs under the EMB will be greatly affected, including the implementation of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Solid Waste Management Act and hazardous waste management regulations.
Garin, vice chair of the House appropriations committee, said the budget cut for healthcare waste programs “is very much untimely” because the country is still in the midst of a pandemic and COVID cases are still being reported daily.
According to DENR data, a total of 634,687.73 metric tons of healthcare waste were generated in 2021, which is equivalent to 52,890 metric tons each month, a roughly 500% increase from pre-COVID baseline figure.
“While COVID-19 cases in the country have started to decline, virus-contaminated healthcare wastes generated by the situation have continuously become a challenge and addressing the issue of proper healthcare waste disposal is still of paramount concern,” Garin said.
She also asked the DENR to address the complaints of some local government units whose healthcare waste are not collected on time from their preliminary treatment and storage facilities.
“We are asking the DENR to look into this as the consequences of improper handling and disposal of medical waste are serious,” Garin said.