A member of the minority bloc in the House of Representatives and a progressive group on Thursday urged President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte to stop the closure of Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Santa Cruz, Manila.
Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna and the group Anakbayan also asked the incoming president to reverse the decision of the current administration to privatize the country’s busiest birthing facility.
Zarate said the public maternity hospital is expected to close its doors to patients on Thursday.
“The closing down of Fabella Maternity Hospital is an oppressive and disgraceful exit of President Aquino from Malacañang,” he said.
“This should not continue. We are urging President Duterte to stop the closure and, eventually, cancel the privatization of the almost century-old maternity hospital,” Zarate added.
According to the lawmaker, Fabella is among those 23 government hospitals that have been placed under the Aquino administration’s privatization program.
“On this sad day that the Aquino administration pulled the lifeline plug on Fabella Hospital, we stand firmly with the patients, health workers and supporters who had fought a good fight against its heartless and unjust closure. They may have closed down Fabella, but the struggle for free and better health care burns bright,” Zarate said.
On his part, Anakbayan Secretary General Einstein Recedes said the Department of Health has issued a Thursday ultimatum for the hospital with over 1,300 staff set to be temporarily transferred to the Philippine Blood Center in Quezon City.
“Fabella, even in its current decrepit state, continues to serve the poorest of the poor—especially mothers who cannot afford to give birth in private hospitals. There is no reason for the government to privatize Fabella, which is one of the last remaining bastions of affordable health care in the country,” he said.
“What Fabella and our other government hospitals need are necessary upgrades and higher funding. Closure and privatization should be out of the question,” Recedes said.
He also called on incoming President Duterte to stop this “baby-killing” move. “The outgoing President has turned into a baby-killer. The Filipino people must stand united to counter this move,” Recedes said.