CONVERSATIONS ABOUT AMBULANCES

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT AMBULANCES

I first became familiar with the need for ambulances when I was appointed as a Director of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). Back then, I often wondered why the mayors of LGUs, whether big cities or small towns, would request ambulances from the PCSO. Why couldn’t they simply purchase their own units using their local budgets?

A friend of mine—sarcastically, of course—told me that if I wanted to understand this, I had to understand the Filipino psyche. He said, “Most Filipinos will always want their share of whatever is free, even if they can afford it.” I found that statement uncomfortable, even troubling. Is it true? What do you think? If a mayor can afford an ambulance from the LGU’s internal revenue allotment, why wait in line at PCSO?

Nowadays, I am no longer connected with PCSO, but I still wonder about residents of many LGUs who remain without access to ambulance services. Some of their mayors continue to fall in line at PCSO for units instead of budgeting for them. In the meantime, people suffer delays—or worse—during emergencies.

But let’s step back for a moment. As I now write about broader governance topics, I see the bigger picture. An ambulance is not just a van with a siren. LGUs need not only the vehicle, but also the equipment inside it—equipment that PCSO may not always provide. They also need trained people: Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to staff the unit and professional drivers to operate it.

Could any ordinary driver become an ambulance driver? I say no. Driving an ambulance requires not just skills behind the wheel but the discipline and presence of mind to handle emergencies. And could anyone become an EMT? Of course not. EMTs require training, certification, and continuous updating of skills. In other words, it’s not just about buying machines—it’s about building systems.

And that brings me to another point: dispatching. What good is an ambulance if it’s not properly deployed? Cities and municipalities need their own dispatching systems, ideally linked to a 911 hotline. Otherwise, ambulances become little more than expensive parked vehicles, waiting for someone to make a frantic call directly to the mayor’s office.

Finally, ambulances are only as useful as the hospitals they deliver patients to. It is not enough to have wheels and sirens. LGUs must also ensure that their local hospitals have functioning Emergency Rooms staffed with doctors and nurses trained in emergency medicine. Otherwise, what happens when the ambulance arrives? Do we stabilize the patient—or just transfer the crisis from the road to the hospital hallway?

To me, ambulances should be seen as mobile emergency rooms, designed to stabilize patients before they reach the hospital. That is why they must be equipped with stretchers, oxygen tanks, defibrillators, IV kits, suction machines, and cardiac monitors, among many other essentials. Without these, an “ambulance” is reduced to nothing more than a glorified taxi.

So, here’s the challenge for LGUs: Can they rethink their approach to emergency medical services, moving beyond handouts from PCSO? Could we, as citizens, demand that ambulances be properly equipped, staffed, and dispatched? And could national agencies, instead of merely donating vehicles, work with LGUs to establish local EMT training programs and community-based emergency response systems?

I do not want this to sound too complicated. But sometimes, conversations about governance begin with simple questions—like why ambulances always seem to come from PCSO instead of our LGUs’ own budgets. If those conversations eventually lead us to better-equipped units, better-trained staff, and better-prepared hospitals, then perhaps we will all be safer the next time an emergency strikes.

Because in the end, what is an ambulance really for? Not to make mayors look good during turnover ceremonies, but to save lives. And that, I think, is a conversation worth continuing.

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres
iseneres@yahoo.com, 09088877282, senseneres.blogspot.com

11-29-2025