City legislators recently granted authority to the city mayor representing the local government to enter into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Health-Center for Health Development–Cordillera Administrative Region (DOH-CHD-CAR) for the release and utilization of funds in support for the implementation of the Open Spaces Pilot Project in the city.
Under Resolution No. 747, series of 2023, the Committee on Laws, Human Rights and Justice, in its 2nd indorsement dated November 29, 2023, recommended the grant of the requested authority taking into consideration the manifested city participation in the subject of the proposed agreement.
However, the council claimed that the agreement that will be signed should be submitted to the local legislative body for review and confirmation.
Earlier, in his letter dated July 18, 2023, Acting City Mayor Faustino A. Olowan he requested authority to enter into an agreement with the DOH-CHD-CAR for the release and utilization of available funds in support for the implementation of the Open Spaces Pilot Project in the city.
Republic Act (RA) 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act mandated that all provincewide and citywide health systems shall have the minimum components, such as primary care provider network with patient records, accessible throughout the health system; accurate, sensitive, and timely epidemiologic surveillance systems and proactive and effective health promotion programs or campaigns.
Further, Section 22 of the same law provided that the national government should make available commensurate financial and non-financial matching grants, including capital outlay, human resources for health and health commodities to improve the functionality of province and citywide health systems and provides that the underserved and unserved areas shall be given priority in the allocation of grants and shall be in accordance with the approved provincewide and citywide healthy investment plans which shall account for complementation of public and private health care providers and public or private health sector investments.
Moreover, Section 30 of the law stipulates that all provincewide and citywide health systems shall provide proactive and effective health promotion programs and campaigns, and that a health promotion unit with appropriate human resource compliment shall be established within the system to ensure sustainable implementation of health promotion and improved health literacy.
The council noted that by the said provisions and to assist the city government in accomplishing such requirements by the said law, the DOH Health Promotion Bureau, together with the Centers for Health Development, develops and implements the health promotion playbooks, a package of evidence-based interventions with ready to use tools, materials and guides which the city can readily adopt and implement within its jurisdiction, to assist in the capacity development to implement health promotion programs.
The city government received funding from the health department of PhP4.565 million intended for the implementation of the Open Spaces Pilot Project in the city. By Dexter A. See
