President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) was once again used as a stage for polishing his administration’s image, according to the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD). Behind announcements on YAKAP, GAMOT, expanded PhilHealth benefits, and Zero Balance Billing, the country’s health system remains in critical condition.
Dr. Edelina Dela Paz, Chairperson of HEAD, declared: “Hindi State of the Nation ang ipinakita ng Pangulo kundi State of the Public Relations. Puro pagpapabango at band-aid solutions ang inihain sa harap ng sambayanang Pilipino, habang ang mismong sistemang pangkalusugan ay naghihingalo dahil sa dekada ng komersyalisasyon at kriminal na kapabayaan.”
HEAD criticized the repeated repackaging of benefits as temporary cover-ups rather than genuine solutions. Dr. Dela Paz stressed that true Universal Health Care cannot be achieved through insurance-dependent schemes.
“Hindi Zero Balance Billing ang nararanasan ng mamamayan kundi zero access sa tunay na libreng serbisyong pangkalusugan,” she added.
The group also opposed Marcos Jr.’s attempt to blame fake news, social media, pornography, and hate culture for the worsening mental health crisis and rising HIV cases.
HEAD argued these are not simply issues of misinformation or individual behavior but consequences of poverty, hunger, lack of decent jobs, low wages, and a health system long abandoned to commercialization.
Dr. Dela Paz underscored: “Ang krisis sa kalusugan ay hindi simpleng usapin ng kakulangan ng programa. Ito ay sintomas ng isang lipunang inuuna ang tubo kaysa tao. Walang halaga ang pagdaragdag ng mga benepisyo kung nananatiling pribatisado, komersyalisado, at kulang sa pampublikong pamumuhunan ang ating sistemang pangkalusugan.”
“Ang kailangan ng sambayanan ay tunay na structural reforms, hindi taun-taong pagpapalit lamang ng benda sa sugat na matagal nang nagnanaknak.”
HEAD insisted that the problem lies not in the absence of programs but in the failure to address the roots of the health crisis. As long as Philippine society is dominated by imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism, health will remain commodified and denied as a true right of the people.
The alliance concluded: the Filipino people do not need another spectacle in the SONA. What is needed is a government willing to heal the roots of social illness and build a truly public, quality, and humane health system that serves the people—not profit or foreign interests.# (RRN)
