If there would be an overhaul of the curriculum, it should not be limited to math only, so that the curriculum matches or becomes more appropriate to the needs of our graduates.*

Salazar: Of all the things he should emphasize in the SONA, it is the full support for the K to 12 [curriculum]. 

PROMISE: All hospitals will be required to have a facility for indigent patients, with government paying for the health services using PhilHealth reserve funds, sin tax revenues, and the budget of the health department.

Dr Tony Leachon, PhilHealth director and president of the Philippine College of Physicians Foundation: That’s a laudable move…. The source of funds could be sin taxes, the Department of Health budget, and PAGCOR, and I saw a bill by Senator Recto proposing to earmark PCSO funds for health. 

Either they legislate this, or they look for additional taxes…. That move by President Duterte is okay, but the problem through the years has always been budget…. Basically, I think that’s doable, as long as there is a staff responsible to man the hospital.*

PROMISE: Government will create specialized hospitals in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Leachon: It’s just right to create these hospitals because by distance, it would be difficult if someone from the province has to go all the way to Manila to undergo a heart operation. But education, research, and training should be replicated from Manila to the areas where you see the need. You have to assign competent personnel in those hospitals, or else who will man them?*

PROMISE: Government will establish a trust fund for the payment of medical expenses of Filipinos confined in hospitals.

Leachon: President Duterte’s proposal is a trust fund where everything is under one roof like a one-stop shop where you can request for the payment of expenses not covered by PhilHealth…. But a blueprint is needed on how to implement that. I think it should be under the Department of Health, but with representatives from funding agencies like PCSO and PAGCOR.*

PROMISE: Every barangay will have one doctor – someone who would act as the physician of that barangay.

Leachon: We don’t have a national workforce plan wherein the number of doctors to be deployed in your area will be based on your population. If we don’t have enough doctors, we can also tap health care professionals, because in Cuba, not all deployed health workers are doctors. This is preventive, anyway…. That can be done, but not one doctor for every barangay because we don’t have enough doctors.*

PROMISE: Government will sustainably push preventive health programs in the country.

Leachon: On preventive medicine, the Department of Health should coordinate with the DILG, DepEd, or DOLE to implement that. For example, there will be a memorandum of agreement on a smoke-free policy. It will be an inter-agency collaboration. That’s what they did in Cuba, preventive, so that we lessen the number of patients who go to and spend much in hospitals. 

A health care system should actually be hinged on preventive health. The most important thing is to have a smoke-free environment…. We also have to change the diet of Filipinos. One thing we should add is the sin taxes for soda and junk food. 

The FDA should also come out with a calorie counter, and a healthy food plate and all, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture.*

PROMISE: Government will create a single, permanent Emergency Response Department in charge of disaster preparedness, relief, and rehabilitation.

Clemente Bautista, national coordinator, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment: It will be good if we have that agency because we can improve our disaster response for victims of natural calamities. If we implement this and if they come up with a comprehensive program, it shouldn’t only include immediate response, but also how to prevent the impact of natural calamities. 

For flash floods and landslides, we need a long-term solution and rehabilitation of our environment, particularly the forest areas. We also need to build flood control facilities.*

Kris Berse, analyst on disasters and climate change from the University of the Philippines: At the outset, this move could resolve issues that have plagued the Office of Civil Defense in the past, especially those that relate to questions of authority, accountability, and capacity.

First, it cannot just be an agency that will handle emergency response à la Davao’s 911. In order to effectively reduce the impact of disasters on our communities, we need to drastically lessen our vulnerabilities and strengthen our resilience before a disaster could happen.

Second, placing the agency directly under the Office of the President would enhance prioritization in government planning and programming and at the same time ensure command, communication, and control in times of disasters.

Third, it has to be a science-driven agency. Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction could be a good model for us on this.

PROMISE: Track down dirty factories and install state-of-the-art anti-pollution equipment to reduce the country’s carbon emissions. 

Bautista: Regardless of whether or not Duterte agrees with the Paris climate agreement, the government should require companies and even government institutions to put up the best technology in controlling pollution. For example, when it comes to coal, until now we don’t have a study that looks into the effects of coal-powered plants. We don’t have a study on the kind of technology they use.*

Berse: Technology and regulation are good, but these can only do so much in limiting emissions from the industry sector. And we must bear in mind that our CO2 emissions also come from other sectors, such as transport, waste, energy, forestry, and agriculture. To effectively address this issue, we need to look at the totality of our so-called GHG sources and sinks.

PROMISE: Strictly implement regulations to ensure mining does not destroy the environment.

Bautista: There will be no responsible mining in the Philippines foor as long as the government’s programs and policies allow the private and foreign corporations to control the industry. 

[We should] junk or repeal the Mining Act of 1995, [and] pass a new mining policy. We have available bills, particularly the People’s Mining Bill which will radically orient our mining industry providing our domestic needs.*

Berse: This is a step in the right direction, and so far, Secretary Gina Lopez has delivered. Hopefully, after this initial crackdown on erring mining firms, DENR will start looking into long-lasting policy reforms in the mining sector.

PROMISE: Government will lease out lands and islands for 30 to 50 years to developers.

Bautista: We don’t agree. We encourage Duterte to promote a nationalistic and patriotic government. That’s in our Constitution – our natural resources are part of our national patrimony. It should not be privatized. 

We want to develop those areas but it should be under the control and investment of government. We are not prohibiting private and foreign investors, but you will regulate, not the other way around that they get to control our natural resources.* – Rappler.com

*Original quote is in a mix of English and Filipino
**Valbuena photo from ACT-Philippines Facebook page; Salazar photo from PBEd Facebook page; Berse photo from UP-NCPAG; Leachon and Bautista photos by Rappler