Report. [1918]

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confronted with the disadvantage of having an inefficiently
trained personnel, many of the employees having either scant
preparation, or none at all, to carry out the so-called modern
science of preventing medicine, this fact contributing to a great
extent to the difficulty encountered in preventing epidemics.
It is true that health matters and their importance are not
yet known to any extent in the provinces, and this is probably
the fault of no one in particular, but many health officers were
partly responsible in that they failed to show interest in their
work. President of sanitary divisions and commissioned officers of this Service having a salary lower than P3,000 per
annum are permitted to engage in private practice, because their
salaries are considered insufficient at the present time. This
fact appears to be the cause of their paying more attention to
their personal interests than to public health matters. They
just limit themselves (with few exceptions) to attend to routine
work of the office, but do not endeavor to promote and increase
the interest of the people towards sanitation, nor do they pay
much attention to health problems. The actual health organization has also its part in this problem, because the health fund
is not centralized in an individual in each province and for this
reason the amount appropriated either by the general fund of
the province or municipal fund depends greatly upon political
contingencies.
There are also many provisions of law that leave the health
officers forsaken if not completely hand-tied, placing them in an
unbearable situation.
So long as these conditions continue, a rapid and efficient progress in the sanitation of the provinces is impossible.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
1. WITH REFERENCE TO HEALTH ORGANIZATION.
(a) Revision of the Philippine Health Service law centralizing all powers conferred upon the provincial boards and municipal councils in the hands of the Secretary of the Department
and the Director of Health.
(b) Creation of a "Training School of Sanitation" for commissioned and noncommissioned officers in the Service.
(c) Division of the Islands into sanitary districts assigning
to each district an inspector who can make continuous and intensive supervision of subordinates as well as of the health
organization.