Impact Assessment of Governance Devolution on Public Health: The Case of the City of Paranaque

Abstract

The title of the study was taken from the context of the provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991, with emphasis on the concept of devolution as a strategy in the decentralization of the delivery of basic goods and services in which the health sector is included and elaborated. The study was conducted due to the initial perception of the worsening conditions of the health service delivery. Furthermore, the objectives of the study were geared towards a determination of whether or not the government adhered to its responsibility of prioritizing the people’s health welfare through the examination of the Code’s implementation, particularly the devolution strategy. Appropriate data gathering and sampling methods have been employed in the study to ensure credibility and authenticity. The results of the study revealed that most of the respondents surveyed in selected two barangays in Paranaque City agreed that indeed there was an improvement in the delivery of health services in their area, with emphasis on the increase in the number of barangay health centers, sufficient medicines, competent health staff including the doctors and the nurses on duty, and proper implementation, information and dissemination of the current health programs of the government.