Hontiveros flags HFEP issues, questions service delivery amid funding

Senator Risa Hontiveros posed a question regarding facilities funded by taxpayers’ money under the Department of Health’s (DOH) Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) during a Senate Committee on Health and Demography hearing on 11 May.

The senator asserted that many Filipinos are encountering facilities funded by taxpayers’ money that lack personnel, have no proper equipment, and are stocked with unused medicines, along with delayed or abandoned projects despite billions in budget allocations.

“The question is: do the facilities funded by taxpayers’ money actually work?” Hontiveros asked.

Meanwhile, according to the Commission on Audit (COA), as cited by Hontiveros, the main problem is attributed to weak monitoring and procurement systems, unequal allocation of resources, and bypassed vetting processes due to political or informal channels.

“We keep seeing this. Completed on paper, but is ineffective in real life,” the senator said.

Hontiveros also asserted that conflicts of interest are being linked to issues within the Department of Health (DOH), saying these are unacceptable and should not be normalized, especially with billions of pesos of public funds at stake.

Hontiveros further argued that there are delayed projects and non-functional programs despite billions in funding, asserting that no ribbon-cutting ceremony can replace quality services for Filipinos that HFEP should provide.

For 2026, DOH’s budget for HFEP is P22.23 billion in the approved General Appropriation Act (GAA), implemented by the involved DOH Regional Offices and local government units (LGUs), where LGUs employ the services of private contractors.

Furthermore, DOH and its attached agencies also received the largest share of the health budget at 66 percent, or P297.5 billion, which is a 20% increase from the 2025 budget.

The senator posed a question before the committee on whether HFEP-funded facilities are functional and provide services to Filipinos.