Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, the country needs everyone’s participation in order to permanently defeat this virus and hope to bring back the normal lives of the people.

In light of the current situation, Stratbase ADR Institute, in partnership with CitizenWatch Philippines, held earlier its first virtual round table discussion (vRTD) on the topic, “The Philippine Health Care System: Emergent and Pressing Issues, Approaches, and Perspectives amid the COVID-19 Crisis”. It brought stakeholders from across the healthcare sector together to discuss issues, approaches, and perspectives to make the Philippine health care system more resilient. Faced with such a multi-faceted challenge, the discussion is expected to cover issues of governance, security, medicine supply chains, as well as new health systems and Universal Health Care (UHC).

Program

Introduction
MR. FRANCESCO “PACO” A. PANGALANGAN
Executive Director
Stratbase ADR Institute

Welcoming Remarks
PROF. DINDO MANHIT
President
Stratbase ADR Institute

Speakers

COVID-19: Navigating Inclusive Recovery Towards the New Normal
DR. RONALD MENDOZA
Dean
Ateneo School of Government

COVID-19 and Security Governance: An Initial Examination of the Philippine Experience and its Possible Implication to Policy Development
DR. SHERWIN ONA
Senior Researcher, Jesse Robredo Institute of Governance;
Chairperson, Department of Political Science, De La Salle University

Testing, Tracing, Isolation, and PPEs: New Health System and UHC Normals
DR. EDUARDO “DODO” BANZON
Principal Health Specialist
Asian Development Bank

Reactors

DR. BEVERLY HO
Special Assistant to the Secretary of Health for UHC
Department of Health

DR. SHARON VILLANUEVA
Associate Professor
UP-Manila College of Public Health

REP. MICHAEL DEFENSOR
Vice Chairperson, House Committee on Health
Representative, ANAKALUSUGAN Party List
Convenor, Act as One PH

MS. MARIA FATIMA LORENZO
President
Philippine Alliance of Patients’ Organization

MR. GUILLERMO “BILL” LUZ
Chief Resilience Officer
Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF)

Perspectives from the Health Frontliners and Stakeholders

MR. PAOLO BORROMEO
President and CEO
Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc.

ATTY. PILAR “NUCA” ALMIRA
Head, Covid Crisis Team
Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings, Inc.

MR. YEE KOK CHEONG
Country Head
Boehringer Ingelheim

MS. KARA BROTEMARKLE
Country Head
Roche

DR. AMAL MAKHLOUFI BENCHOUK
Country Chair and General Manager for Pharmaceuticals
Sanofi

MR. ANDRES ORTOLÁ
Country General Manager
Microsoft Philippines

MR. PAOLO AZZOLA
Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer
Paymaya Philippines

DR. VICENTE PAQUEO
Non-Resident Fellow
Stratbase ADR Institute

MR. PAUL PEREZ
Convenor and Spokesperson
Cancer Coalition of the Philippines

DR. TED PADILLA
Executive Director
Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines

COUNCILOR JORGE BANAL
Former National President and Current Head of National Capital Region
Federation Senior Citizens Association of the Philippine

A Message from Prof. Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute:

To our dear fellows from the academe, Dean Mendoza and Dr. Ona, and to my long-time colleague and internationally renowned health specialist, Dr. Banzon, thank you very much for sharing with us your expertise and help us understand the effects of this pandemic to our society.

To our guest reactors who shared knowledge and gave their expert opinions; to the frontliners and stakeholders who shared their views and perspectives of what will be the “new normal,” I also express the same gratitude for your kind participation.

Your significant inputs really made this afternoon’s discussion worthwhile and rest assured that the learning we have acquired will be recommended to shape decisions and future policies.

The current situation has not only tested the country’s health system and economy, but also the strength of the Filipino spirit, and exemplified the capacity of our political leaders to set aside political charades, and act as role models of hope, leadership, and direction in this time of uncertainty.

More so, the past few months would be have been more difficult without the collective efforts from both public and private sector. Once again, we proved that working together “As One” can make the big difference in solving a crisis of this magnitude.

Right now, it is certain that we have to change our behaviors and live with new norms in order to move forward.

As we enter the “new normal,” we need to sustain government-business coordination to win the war against COVID-19. The challenge therefore is to strengthen the policy framework and conduciveness of the environment to expand and deepen a dynamic public-private sector collaboration. By working together and enabling the private sector to flex its potential, we can heal faster.

It is not yet too late to regain the momentum for this year. And, to achieve this, we will need the continuous support from each stakeholder. Let’s start by improving our country’s decades-old healthcare system and make it more globally competitive.

Again, on behalf of the ADR Institute, and our partner CitizenWatch Philippines, I would like to again extend my appreciation to all the participants and organizers. You made this first virtual Roundtable Discussion a successful event.

Keep safe and healthy everyone!