Every day, thousands of Filipinos face a terrifying reality: getting sick in the Philippines is often a death sentence not because of the illness, but because of the system. We see it in the news and experience it in our neighborhoods. Patients are forced to wait in plastic chairs or on hospital floors because there aren't enough beds. Emergency rooms are so congested that people are literally dying at the gate before a doctor can see them.

Our healthcare system is struggling under the weight of years of neglect:

• Lack of Beds: The national average is only 0.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people, which is far below the ASEAN average and the World Health Organization's recommendation.

• The "Brain Drain": While we export thousands of nurses yearly, we have a shortage of over 120,000 nurses and only about 7.9 physicians per 10,000 people domestically.

• Broken Equipment: Recent audits (2025-2026) revealed that hundreds of "Super Health Centers" and facilities built under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) remain non-functional or idle due to a lack of staff and equipment.

• Financial Burden: Despite the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law, nearly 45% of health expenses are still paid "out-of-pocket" by families, pushing them deeper into poverty.

Healthcare is a human right, not a luxury. When a father has to choose between buying medicine for his child or buying food for the week, the system has failed. When a mother dies from a treatable complication because the local hospital’s only ventilator was broken, the system has failed. This impacts the quality of life of every Filipino, particularly the poor who have no choice but to rely on underfunded government facilities.

We are not just complaining; we are demanding specific, urgent changes:

1. Full Functionality of Idle Facilities: We demand that the DOH and LGUs immediately staff and equip the hundreds of idle health centers built in the last five years.

2. Increased Bed Capacity: Allocate immediate funding to increase bed capacity in provincial and tertiary government hospitals to eliminate "corridor medicine."

3. Modernize Equipment: Conduct a nationwide audit and immediate replacement of obsolete diagnostic tools (X-rays, MRIs, Dialysis machines) in all public hospitals.

4. Competitive Pay for Health Workers: Increase the base salary and benefits of public nurses and doctors to stop the exodus of our best medical minds.

5. Strict Implementation of the "No Balance Billing" Policy: Ensure that no poor Filipino is ever sent a bill they cannot pay in a government facility.

We call on the Philippine Government to stop prioritizing "brick and mortar" projects that remain empty and start prioritizing the lives of the people. Sign this petition to demand that our taxes go toward a healthcare system that actually heals.