Change is integral to organizational systems. As it tries to meet present day challenges and anticipate future crises and opportunities, it has to remain dynamic. However, it is also basic that any proposal for change must be well-thought of and is acceptable to those concerned. It should also be convincingly positive against the burden of proof that is history.

We, the students of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, call for the rejection of House Bill No. 7956 in its present form, based on the following grounds:

1. The bill makes uncertain the future access of UP medical students to the PGH as its training hospital. Though it is provided that the PGH will remain as its primary training laboratory, there is no assurance of automatic access since training arrangements will be subject to future agreements. Such drastic changes in training setup would not only disrupt the existing medical curriculum, but could also alter the critical balance between service, training and research - the threefold functions of the PGH.

2. Likewise, it will be more costly for the government to have two sets of faculty members. At present, the CM and the PGH share its consultant faculty staff. Separation of PGH and the CM would force the government to hire clinical faculty for the college.

3. The bill is also silent on health service access. At present , an infirmary is set -up in the PGH for UP students. Separation of the PGH from the UP system would mean the loss of this right and privilege to health care.

4. As future residents and staff of the hospital, we are also concerned that placing the PGH under Malacanang would expose it to partisan politics, which could greatly affect the applicant screening process; including the training and instruction inside the PGH.

We likewise join other sectors in the UP Manila - PGH community in the analysis that :

1. The proposal of appointing a Board of Trustees for the PGH is unacceptable. The present system of holding search processes in a collegial atmosphere may have its own flaws , but it is far more dangerous to base future appointments on just the confidence of the President of the Philippines.

2. We also believe that too much power is being proposed to be given to the future PGH Director, especially that the bill is silent in terms of guaranteeing to abide by the provisions of the Salary Standardization Law, the Magna Carta of Health Workers and the Civil Service Law.

3. We likewise believe that the bill paves the way for further commercialization of the PGH. With the proposed composition of its leadership (Board of Trustees); with its power to acquire, sell and lease properties and its being placed under the control of Malacanang, it would be very easy for PGH to fall into the global and national policy of streamlining government spending on social services, hence, eventual commercialization and privatization which spells inaccessibility.

4. Lastly, we believe that seeking more fiscal and administrative autonomy for PGH is a valid argument. However, it should be seen in the light that a symbiotic relationship between the university and the hospital is maintained; that previous laws and decisions on the matter have to be considered; that in charting its future, the PGH has to consider the visions of the university and lastly, for this matter to be resolved once and for all by mechanisms within the university.

We, the students, believe that health is a basic human right. Our people deserve health care which is optimal and accessible to them. Placing the PGH under the Office of the President of the Philippines may do more harm than good. And House Bill no. 7956, has given rise to more questions rather than answers.

We, the students of the UP College of Medicine, call for the scrapping of House Bill No. 7956 and push for the convening of a multi-sectoral body within the University to further discuss the issue and its alternatives.

Done in a joint caucus of the Medicine Student Council, Council of Presidents and Organizational Representatives, at the Bobby dela Paz Hall, this 5th day of July , 1997.