PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued a memorandum circular (MC) adopting a five-year National Objectives for Health (NOH), which aims to strengthen the country's health sector.

Through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Marcos signed on June 4 MC 53 adopting the NOH of the Department of Health (DoH) for the period 2023-2028.

Set for implementation until the end of Marcos' term in 2028, the NOH serves as the medium-term strategy of his administration for strengthening the health sector of the Philippines.

Marcos said the adoption of the NOH 2023-2028 was aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 for enhancing the country's health sector under his administration, anchored on "AmBisyon Natin 2040."

AmBisyon Natin 2040 reflects the Filipino people's collective long-term vision and aspirations. It also promotes good health as one of the key strategies toward economic and social transformation.

"Consistent with the abovementioned State policies, and pursuant to DOH's mandate as the lead agency responsible to set the country's policy direction on health, the National Objectives for Health (NOH) 2023-2028 was formulated to serve as the country's medium-term strategy for strengthening the country's health sector," Marcos said in his order.

The DoH is the lead agency in implementing the NOH 2023-2028.

In line with this, the President ordered the DoH to formulate and disseminate plans and guidelines that will ensure that all stakeholders have a comprehensive understanding of the health objectives.

Moreover, the department shall establish a robust monitoring and evaluation framework for implementing the 8-Point Action Agenda.

Marcos also directed the DoH to facilitate capacity-building programs and workshops for local government units (LGUs) and relevant stakeholders; coordinate and collaborate with the private sector, civil society organizations and international bodies; and ensure a participatory approach by involving communities, beneficiaries and other relevant stakeholders.

It will also ensure that strategies under the NOH 2023-2028 are integrated, as applicable, into the annual operations plans of LGUs.

"It is imperative for all national government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), and LGUs to support and cooperate towards the successful implementation of the NOH 2023-2028," the President said.

MC 53, which was released to the media on Saturday, takes effect immediately.

World-class health facilities

In line with his medium-term health strategy, Marcos has resolved to provide world-class healthcare facilities through his Legacy Hospitals Project, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Saturday.

In his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center Legacy Building in Legazpi City, Romualdez said that Marcos wants to continue the legacy of his father, former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., by creating specialty health care centers in Manila.

Marcos Sr. was behind the creation of specialty hospitals such as the Lung Center of the Philippines, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and the Philippine Heart Center.

Romualdez said that in addition to the specialty hospitals, the administration is building the Philippine Cancer Center near the LCP complex in Quezon City.

"We will not only have a hospital for cancer patients, but we will also give them world-class doctors and nurses that we will train and support. The doctors who were trained at the Philippine Cancer Center will be sent to our regional specialty hospitals to treat those in the provinces," Romualdez said.

"I am hoping that not only those in Legazpi City or in Albay will benefit from this world-class service, but everyone in the entire Bicol Region," he added.

None of this would have happened, he said, if not for the efforts of the House Committee on Appropriations head and Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, who attended the event together with Ako Bicol Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon and 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez.

The hospital is expected to have a 433-bed capacity with state-of-the-art facilities such as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, computerized tomography (CT) scan, diagnostic laboratories, and a cancer center.