MANILA – This year’s Dr. Mariano Alimurung lecturer, Dr. Joel Abanilla has called for the creation of an integrated national cardiac registry, warning that fragmented data systems, weak coordination among agencies, and gaps in healthcare financing continue to hamper the country’s response to heart disease.
During the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) 56th Annual Convention and Scientific Meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Keynote Speaker Dr. Abanilla said the country already has existing databases and reporting systems, but these remain disconnected, preventing health planners from seeing the full picture of cardiac healthcare needs nationwide.
A former PHA president and Philippine Heart Center medical director during the Duterte Administration, Dr. Abanilla is an ardent researcher who has collaborated with the Department of Health (DOH) to generate the critical statistical data necessary to track and combat cardiovascular disease nationwide.
He cited the absence of consolidated numbers on the workforce (the number of cardiologists and their location) and facilities, robs planners of the necessary information for identifying problems and formulating effective solutions.
“As to facility opacity, DOH does not hold a registry or a list,” Dr. Abanilla said, noting that government agencies and institutions maintain separate databases that are not coordinated into a unified cardiac service network.
“And training-wise, it is assessed that yes, we have the training, but it's fragmented. We have no clear direction where to go, and a clear direction how to address health care problems.”
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the DOH do not maintain or share comprehensive data on specialists or cardiac facilities often "due to privacy concerns".
As for the financing barriers that continue to burden patients requiring major cardiac procedures, access to Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) reimbursements, and government medical assistance remains a challenge for many.
“I think all of you experience the reimbursement of PhilHealth, and the Z-benefit and how to get it, and those who need surgery to get what we call GL [guarantee letter],” he said.
“GL, the money that is given through the approval of a politician through DOH. You need P400,000, you get P20,000. So I don't know what kind of health that is,” he added.
Additionally, support for public hospitals, especially outside Metro Manila, from local government units remains uneven, with the budget either “too low” or having a special budget that is not properly utilized.
“Tayo, hindi natin maramdaman ito, but for government hospitals scattered around the country, at times the local government do not support them because they are not their priority,” Dr. Abanilla said.
Despite the problems, the country already possesses the “skeleton” of a national healthcare directory system through existing databases and accreditation mechanisms.
“We have the PRC licensing status, we have the PhilHealth provider accreditation, we have the DOH health facility registry, we have the national database of selected human resource of health information existing reporting channels, as well as the online health facility statistics reporting system,” he said.
The core issue is the absence of integration among these systems, which hinders evidence-based policy-making for resource allocation, workforce distribution, and service improvement.
“And again, build, again, a national registry and other data that is necessary for policy making. And together, if we can put our act together, we can speak with one louder voice. And the DOH, as well as PhilHealth, cannot just easily ignore us,” he added.
