AIHO

05/04/2026

AIHO greets all celebrating Christians a Happy Easter!

21/03/2026

Eid al-fitr Mubarak to our Muslim brothers and sisters!

04/03/2026

On 3 March 2026, Quezon City Rep. B**g Suntay stood before a congressional hearing and publicly voiced his sexual fantasy about a woman. He then insisted there was nothing wrong with it.

Reducing a woman to an object of sexual imagination and public sexual commentary in an official government proceeding, in front of the nation, is not a harmless comment. This is an example of how women in the Philippines constantly endure everyday sexism and objectification from strangers, acquaintances, and now even in the halls of power meant to represent and protect all Filipinos.

WGH Philippines firmly calls for a full public apology from Rep. Suntay, not just to one person, but to all Filipino women.

To every Filipino woman: you are more than what anyone says about you. We see you, and we stand with you.

01/01/2026

Thank you, 2025.

Here's to better 2026! Happy New Year from AIHO!

25/12/2025

Maligayang Pasko, mula sa AIHO!

20/12/2025

AIHO is one of the signatories in this joint position statement of Philippine health and medical professional organizations.

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐏

The Bicameral Conference Committee for the 2026 General Appropriations Bill (House Bill 4058) raises the budget for the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program to ₱51 billion while allocating ₱69.78 billion for the PhilHealth insurance premiums for the poor. Despite the increase of PhP 16.52 billion, this allocation still falls short of the government’s obligation under the Universal Health Care (UHC).

The UHC Act mandates the National Government to fully subsidize the premiums of 24.5 million indirect contributors. Therefore, the PhilHealth budget for 2026 should be at least ₱147 billion. The current allocation of ₱69.78 billion leaves a significant funding gap.

Expanding MAIFIP for 1.2 million Filipinos is important, but not at the cost of insurance for 24.5 million countrymen who cannot afford it. Even if guarantee letters are removed, MAIFIP shifts health care from a rights-based approach to one based on individual discretion, removing safeguards required by the UHC Act that assure cost-effectiveness, affordability, and equitable distribution of benefits.

We respectfully urge Congress and President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to, once and for all, provide the appropriate budget for PhilHealth and to reduce and gradually phase out MAIFIP.

The government should move beyond promises of greater health benefits and ensure adequate funding to fulfill these commitments.

Signed:
1. Philippine Medical Association
2. Philippine College of Physicians
3. Philippine College of Surgeons
4. Philippine Association of Medical Technologists
5. Philippine League of Government and Private Midwives Inc.
6. Philippine Pharmacists Association
7. Alliance for Improving Health Outcomes
8. Ang NARS
9. Asia-Pacific Center for Evidence-Based Health Care
10. Association of Hand Surgeons of the Philippines
11. Child Neurology Society Philippines
12. Kalusugan ng Mag-Ina (KMI)
13. Pain Society of the Philippines
14. Pediatric Nephrology Society of the Philippines
15. Philippine Academic Society of Social and Community Medicine
16. Philippine Academy for Head and Neck Surgery
17. Philippine Academy of Family Physicians
18. Philippine Academy of Occupational Therapists
19. Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology
20. Philippine Academy of Pediatric Pulmonologists
21. Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine
22. Philippine Addiction Specialists Society
23. Philippine Ambulatory Pediatric Association, Inc
24. Philippine Association of Medical Journal Editors
25. Philippine Association of Nutrition
26. Philippine Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons
27. Philippine Association of Speech-Language Pathologists
28. Philippine College of Adult Nephrology
29. Philippine College of Chest Physicians
30. Philippine College of Emergency Medicine
31. Philippine College of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
32. Philippine College of Geriatric Medicine
33. Philippine Dermatological Society
34. Philippine Heart Association
35. Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines
36. Philippine League Against Epilepsy
37. Philippine Lipid and Atherosclerosis Society
38. Philippine Neurological Association
39. Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society
40. Philippine Orthopaedic Association
41. Philippine Pediatric Society
42. Philippine Physical Therapy Association
43. Philippine Psychiatric Association
44. Philippine Rheumatology Association
45. Philippine Society for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy
46. Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
47. Philippine Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
48. Philippine Society for Gynecologic Endoscopy
49. Philippine Society for Literature and Narrative Medicine
50. Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
51. Philippine Society for Reproductive Medicine
52. Philippine Society for Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
53. Philippine Society of Adolescent Medicine Specialists, Inc
54. Philippine Society of Cardiovascular Catheterization and Interventions
55. Philippine Society of Climacteric Medicine
56. Philippine Society of Clinical and Occupational Toxicology
57. Philippine Society of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
58. Philippine Society of Gastroenterology
59. Philippine Society of General Internal Medicine
60. Philippine Society of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
61. Philippine Society of Hypertension
62. Philippine Society of Medical Oncology
63. Philippine Society of Nephrology
64. Philippine Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
65. Philippine Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
66. Philippine Society of Pediatric Hematology
67. Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians
68. Philippine Spine Society
69. Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines
70. Society of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Philippines
71. Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of the Philippines

18/12/2025

AIHO's Board President Dr. Michael Caampued, Executive Director Dr. JR Ong, and Primary Care and Health Service Delivery Consultant Dr. Aileen Espina were invited as resource persons in the Congress Committee hearing on the proposed revisions of the Universal Health Care Act of 2019 last December 11.

Dr. Caampued represented Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians, while Drs. Ong and Espina represented Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against Covid-19, in which AIHO is an active member.

29/10/2025

AIHO partners Paula Melizza Valera and Ginger Ramirez joined other authors in 15 Asia-Pacific nations in this scoping review to provide the most recent evidence of the resources (legal, financial, human, infrastructural) allocated to child and adolescent mental health (CAMH), and its effectiveness in their countries.

Child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) has become an increasingly important public health issue worldwide and particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the Western Pacific Region (WPR), where access to quality mental health care remains limited. The existing evidence on CAMH in....

21/09/2025

Persistent flooding results to leptospirosis and disaster-related public health emergencies. The misuse of funds intended for flood control, and other forms of corruption, ultimately has an effect in public health. AIHO is with the nation in today's collective action to call out improper use of public funds, to call for accountability, and to demand actions to prevent it in the future.

17/09/2025

We congratulate our AIHO partner and former executive director and Board president, Dr. Katherine Ann Reyes, for being one of the The Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (TOWNS) awardees this year!

🏥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 🏥

Congratulations to Dr. Katherine Ann Reyes, recognized as a TOWNS 2025 Awardee for Service, Research, and Leadership in Public Health Delivery.

A physician, researcher, and public health leader, Dr. Reyes has dedicated her career to strengthening healthcare systems, ensuring that communities—especially the most vulnerable—receive quality, accessible, and evidence-based health services.

Through her groundbreaking research and leadership, she has advanced programs that address health inequities, disease prevention, and community-centered care, bridging the gap between science, policy, and grassroots delivery.

Her work embodies the truth that public health is nation-building—because when every Filipino has access to health and dignity, the entire country thrives.

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