MANILA, Philippines — The government will allocate P9 billion for the deployment of more than 13,000 health professionals to “underserved communities” in 2019, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said Sunday. According to the lawmaker, P7.8 billion out of the P9 billion for the Human Resources for Health Deployment Program is lodged in the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund, while the rest of the allocation worth P1.2 billion is with the DOH. Pimentel said that, in order to augment the regular health staff, the DOH contracted extra health professionals ever year to serve under regular programs. These programs include the Doctors to the Barrios (DTTB), Medical Pool Placement and Utilization Program (MP-PUP), Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement and Local Service (RN Heals), Rural Health Midwives Program (RHMP), and Rural Health Team Placement Program (RHTPP). “We would urge qualified health professionals looking for gainful employment to sign up, so they can help underserved communities while getting paid well,” Pimentel said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 09, 2018 14:15 UTC