EDITORIAL - Ambulances for all

In any community in this disaster-prone archipelago, an ambulance is a necessity. As with fire trucks, however, the country does not have enough government ambulances. In recent years, the lack has been compounded by controversy, with the ambulances becoming part of patronage politics.

Recently the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office informed the House of Representatives that 500 ambulances would soon be distributed to hospitals, local government units and lawmakers. Each 4x2 van is estimated to cost about P1 million including equipment. The PCSO is also planning to buy sea ambulances for island provinces and 4x4 off-road ambulances.

If the current administration wants to promote reforms, it should stop the practice of releasing ambulances to lawmakers and instead give the vehicles directly to government health centers, to be identified by the Department of Health and its offices in local governments units.

The daang matuwid administration must also ban the display of politicians’ names and images on state-funded ambulances. This practice is most prevalent as elections approach. Ambulances are paid for by taxpayers and no politician should grab credit for the availability of the special vehicles. The administration has discouraged epal politicians from displaying billboards claiming personal credit for tax-funded public works and other development projects. There’s no reason why this cannot be done in the case of state-owned ambulances.

PCSO records showed that in the Arroyo administration, allies of the president received the lion’s share of ambulances. All 29 recipients in the House of Representatives reportedly ignored a PCSO requirement that they must shoulder at least 40 percent of the cost of the ambulances.

There have been several reports of PCSO ambulances being used for personal purposes by local politicians. A mayor of Palawan was also accused of transporting prohibited drugs in an ambulance. Any ambulance that is misused must be immediately recalled by the PCSO and given to other health centers.

The nation suffers enough from an acute lack of public health care facilities. When those facilities become available, these should be spared from politics and utilized properly.