If Health Secretary Enrique Ona would have his way, the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) will not get special treatment under the Sin Tax Law. In his comments to the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the law, Ona does not want UP-PGH, which was among those who actively participated in the congressional deliberation, to have special mention in the implementation of the measure. Revenues collected from the Sin Tax Law will directly go to the Department of Health. The proposed IRR specifies that DOH give UP-PGH some of the funds as a research center and by participating in decisions on human resources issues among health personnel. But in his letter to Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima dated 26 December 2013, Ona asked to “delete the last sentence of the Rule III of Sec. 5 of the IRR which specifies UP-PGH as the premiere national university hospital that DOH should primarily engage for research to support universal health care.” Ona said that “even before the passage of Republic Act 10532, the DOH had already established a ‘research reference hub’ under Department Order No. 2012-0197.” “The said DO itself does not prescribe a sole supplier to conduct health research, rather, it recognizes [a] network of research institutions such as the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), National Institute of Health of UP, and other institutes (NIH-UP), including the UP School System of Economics through the Health Policy Development Program (HPDP),” he noted. The letter came at a time when the Department of Health, Department of Finance, Department of Budget, and some health advocacy groups are set to have a final meeting to discuss the IRR today (January 13).
Sin Tax Benefits | DOH does not want UP-PGH singled out in implementing rules
