Santa Cruz de Tenerife 28 Mar. (Europa Press) –
The Association for the Defence of Public Health in the Canary Islands (ADSPC), a collective that advocated for the Popular Legislative Initiative aimed at the Defence and Advancement of Health and Public Health in the Canary Islands, has expressed its “outrage” regarding the Parliament’s decision to retract its debate last Wednesday without providing any prior notification to its initiators.
The association argues that this action violates the Parliament’s regulations, particularly article 144.3, which states that “law proposals may be withdrawn by their proponent as long as they have not been agreed upon by the Chamber; in which case, it will have full effect by itself. If a law proposal had been taken into consideration, the withdrawal will only be valid if the Plenary of the Chamber has discussed it.”
Consequently, the association emphasises in a statement that “since the proposal was considered in the plenary session on March 7, 2012, over 13 years have passed. The potential withdrawal of the ILP, which can only be executed by its proponents, needed to be approved by the Parliament’s plenary—thus indicating that it has failed to adhere to its own regulations by doing so without the proponents’ request.”
They further highlight that “this marks the culmination of a prolonged period of negligence and disregard for a democratic and participatory initiative that, despite being unanimously taken into consideration by the Parliament of the Canary Islands in 2012, has been shamefully disregarded by parliamentary groups. They did not have the courage to reject it due to opportunism, nor did they support the efforts of over 25,000 signatures from Canarian citizens to transform it into the essential Health and Public Health Law of the Canary Islands.”
After five legislative processes, the association expresses regret that Parliament has ultimately decided to “silence its moral compass, resulting in the inaction of all parliamentary groups in establishing and adequately regulating the overall operation of the Ministry of Health and the Canary Health Service, thus ensuring organisational stability and public policies in health and healthcare that are free from partisan or dubious interests.”
Meanwhile, it continues, “the unfortunate and privatising management will persist, unable to tackle the decline of primary care and emergency services, the establishment of effective secondary hospitals, socio-health beds, the enhancement of mental health, sexual and reproductive health, early care, geriatric and palliative care, as well as ensuring drug health transport and guaranteeing social and professional involvement in health councils or other participatory bodies within the management of the Canary health service as outlined in general regulations that remain unfulfilled.”
