SENATOR Alan Peter Cayetano emphasized the need for a transformative approach in the country’s healthcare system, advocating for increased funding for State Universities and Colleges to support research that identifies the best ways to improve the health of Filipinos.

“Each health system has its own problems. May butas naman talaga, at wala namang perfect na system. I’ve seen doctors getting better, our laws getting better, PhilHealth getting better, and a lot of things have gotten better, but I haven’t seen a shift or a game-changer in the way we look at our health system,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano commended Singapore’s healthcare model, noting its efficiency and transparency in patient admission and billing. Although it is still bureaucratic, he said the system effectively sidesteps the common issues of red tape.

He urged SUCs, especially UP-PGH, to conduct studies aimed at evaluating and improving the country’s hospital system to ensure it meets patients’ needs.

“I would like to really have a scientific study of whether or not our present system is the best for Filipino patients and would sustain building hospitals or if we just inherited it in the 60s or 70s and just decided to continue to do it,” he said.

As the country’s largest training hospital, Cayetano also encouraged UP-PGH to maintain the same standards across all its branches to ensure consistent quality.

“We want to have the same standards for all campuses because if it’s not a system baka y’ung quality mo in one campus won’t be of the same quality,” he said.

Cayetano pointed out the need for hiring administrators earlier in the planning process for new systems, stating, “The sooner you appoint the head of the whole system, he or she will already be part of the planning.”

He suggested reallocating portions of the budget from agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to prioritize healthcare and higher education.

“For the last two years, more or less, P1 trillion ang budget ng DPWH, P350 billion doon ay para sa anti-flood projects pero ganoon pa rin ang flooding sa atin,” he said. “Can you imagine if you remove a hundred billion from the DPWH and double the budget of SUCs, baka ma-flood tayo ng research at estudyante rather than pagbabaha sa kalsada,” he added.