It seems even the Department of Health (DOH) has its own ‘flood control version’ after the agency revealed that most of the health centers built under its health facilities enhancement program (HFEP) remained idle due to lack of personnel.
During the House plenary debates on the DOH’s proposed P253-billion budget for 2026, Akbayan Representative Chel Diokno questioned why only 200 out of the 600 health centers built under the HFEP were functional as of 2025 despite the allocation of over P170 billion for its infrastructure and equipment in the past decade.
‘Is the reason why the Secretary of Health described the HFEP as the flood control version of the DOH, was because only a few, according to him, of the health centers are actually functioning?’ he asked.
Diokno was referring to Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa’s comment at the committee-level briefings for the DOH budget where he called the HFEP-which aims to improve delivery of basic, essential and specialized health services-as the ‘flood control version’ of the DOH.
Budget sponsor and Bataan Rep. Albert Garcia clarified, however, that the HFEP had no ‘ghost health facilities’: ‘They exist, but because of the lack of personnel and health care professionals who could run them, they are not functioning.’
He also explained that the department had entered into memoranda of agreement with local governments ‘in good faith,’ expecting them to provide personnel for the facilities they requested.
‘Probably some of our LGUs lacked the funds to hire doctors and midwives, which is beyond the jurisdiction of the secretary,’ Garcia said, adding that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) may need to step in since it oversees LGUs.
‘But they are there waiting to be activated and hopefully we can assign personnel to them so they could provide services to our countrymen,’ Garcia added.
Launched in 2008, the HFEP is a banner program under the DOH that aims to ensure that the poor and marginalized sectors of society have access to appropriate health facilities.
Specifically, it provides funding assistance for infrastructure and equipment of government health facilities nationwide, including barangay health stations, rural health units, district and provincial hospitals, and specialty centers.
In a 2017 performance audit, the Commission on Audit (COA) had already flagged deficiencies in HFEP implementation, including problems with procurement of equipment not aligned with the actual needs; undistributed equipment at DOH regional offices, and the construction of health stations on ineligible and nonworkable project sites.
Diokno noted it had been seven years since the findings but only now was the DOH enforcing stricter controls.
The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), in a 2025 study, likewise found inequities in HFEP’s grant distribution, with some LGUs receiving funds despite not being among those most in need.
To address gaps, the DOH said it had launched a ‘catch-up plan’ in the second half of 2025 by revising HFEP guidelines to expand implementation modes, and opening 55 Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Service (BUCAS) centers nationwide to temporarily provide primary care while idle facilities await personnel. /cb