Naga City Mayor and former Vice President Leni Robredo has called for a strategic shift in the country’s medical priorities, urging both the national government and local government units (LGUs) to invest heavily in preventive medicine to ease the long-term strain on the Philippine healthcare system.
Speaking after the city’s Cervical Cancer Elimination Summit last week, Robredo highlighted preventive services—particularly immunization—as critical and “worthy” interventions that move public health away from a purely reactive model.
“We’re veering away from making treatment the sole focus of our health programs. We want to give more attention to the preventive side,” Robredo said in an interview. “I believe that in the long run, this will benefit not only the health of our constituents, but also the city’s resources. If we strengthen the prevention side, we will be able to free up a lot of resources that can be used for other purposes.”
The mayor pointed out that public awareness remains a significant hurdle, as traditional systems are heavily skewed toward addressing illness after it occurs rather than stopping it beforehand.
“(The system) is mainly reactive. We give them medicines or help in settling hospital fees, then we’re already OK. I don’t think public health is about that,” she observed.
Robredo cited the low rates of screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations as a prime example, noting that proactive measures could drastically minimize or eliminate deaths caused by cervical cancer.
While preventive campaigns demand substantial upfront funding, she emphasized that the alternative is far more costly.
“Vaccination always requires a significant investment, but when many people get sick because they were not vaccinated, the costs become even greater,” she explained.
To avoid vaccine hesitancy and resources going to waste, Robredo challenged the Department of Health (DOH) and fellow LGUs to back up increased healthcare funding with robust public awareness campaigns.
“This is worth the investment,” Robredo concluded. “We can better protect our constituents if we focus on the preventive side. We should not hesitate about the resources we will allocate because, here in Naga, we believe this is a very worthwhile investment.”