By Erica Mae P. Sinaking
Health reform advocates and medical experts said the existence of “ghost” hospitals or defunct Super Health Centers (SHCs) in the country reflects deeper problems of corruption, poor governance and misplaced priorities in the public health system.
In early October, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) said it had received reports about alleged unused and non-operational SHCs that were already tagged as “complete”.
Based on preliminary data from the Department of Health (DOH), a total of 878 SHCs have been funded through the Health Facility Enhancement Program (HFEP) since 2021. Of these, only 196 are operational, 17 are partially operational, while 365 are still under construction.
The remaining 300 facilities – more than a third of the total – remain non-operational.
Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa had earlier told ICI that many of these facilities were lying idle due to lack of basic amenities like electricity and water.
Medical anthropologist Paul Gideon D. Lasko explains, “The health sector has been able to avoid accountability for many forms of corruption – including phantom health centers – because they are not as visible or obvious as other infrastructure projects.” businessworld In e-mail responses to questions.
Mr. Lasko said many public health facilities operate beyond the public eye, often unnoticed by citizens who either distrust government health services or rarely use them.
“We can also see these forms of corruption as evidence of how systemic corruption is in our government,” he said.
Super health centers are larger versions of regular health centres, intended to provide outpatient consultations, basic diagnostics such as X-rays and ultrasounds, minor surgeries and pharmacy services. These were launched in 2021 to supplement local health infrastructure and reduce crowding in public hospitals.
The health chief said all health facilities in 2024 are being implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), following a provision in the General Appropriations Act of 2025 mandating the DPWH to handle the construction of facilities costing more than P5 million and not under DoH control.
For health reform advocate Anthony “Tony” C. Leachon, the problem is how these projects were planned from the beginning and how they were implemented.
In a separate e-mail, Mr Leachon said the continued existence of a dysfunctional or incomplete SHC points to “three interlocking failures” – fragmented planning, weak accountability mechanisms and political interference.
“Infrastructure was given priority over efficiency,” he said.
Mr. Leachon said oversight in programs like the HFEP has historically been weak, allowing contractors and implementing agencies to operate with little consequences for incompetence or neglect.
“Some centers were reportedly built in areas chosen for political convenience rather than epidemiological necessity,” he said, describing the practice as “pork barrel dynamics where visibility outweighs feasibility.”
Despite billions spent, the issue rarely provokes public outcry because of its complexity and the quiet, slow nature of its consequences.
“Unlike scams involving personality or national security, ghost health centers tend to be technocratic, fragmented and slow-burning,” he said. “They rarely provoke outrage because their impact is quietly felt – in missed diagnoses, untreated diseases and preventable deaths.”
The DOH said it would continue to build cases on the 300 problematic SHCs, conduct on-site inspections through its regional directors and activate “citizen participation audits” to gather public reports on defunct facilities.
ICI Executive Director Brian Keith F. “We are still waiting for the DOH to complete its investigation and provide us with a report,” Hosaka said. businessworld Via Viber.
“Ghost health centers are not just abandoned buildings. They are symbols of broken promises,” Mr. Leachon said. “To restore trust, we must restore function. And to restore function, we must restore integrity.”
Meanwhile, Mr Lasko stressed that beyond public outrage, accountability must be held to prevent future wrongdoing. He said structural reforms are needed in the health care system, including stronger support and fair compensation for health workers.
