Sunday, May 23, 2021

‘Wag na pahirapan Bong Go: Lawmakers urge Senate to pass bill expanding public hospitals’ capacity

Congressmen on Sunday urged the Senate to pass various measures that will expand the capacity of public hospitals located in different parts of the country.

House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Romualdez, Tingog Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez and House Committee on Appropriations chairperson and ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Go Yap made the call after the Senate failed to pass the measures on Second Reading in last Thursday’s session.

The Romualdez’ are pushing for the passage of the measure that will increase the bed capacities of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) in Tacloban City and Schistomiasis Hospital in Palo, Leyte.

“We earnestly urge our counterparts in the Senate to expedite the passage of these measures. The increase in bed capacity is aimed at bridging the current gap between hospital beds in the region and improve the quality of healthcare system,” Mr. Romualdez said.

Romualdez is confident that the Senate “is one with our goal to pass these bills into law to help the struggling hospitals keep up with the increasing number of patients, especially now with COVID pandemic,”

The measures seek to upgrade the services, facilities, professional healthcare, and increase the number of medical personnel of two hospitals.

On Thursday, Senator Christopher Go sponsored several measures expanding the capacity of various hospitals. The measures were not approved on second reading due to issues raised by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.

Meanwhile, Yap is pushing for the passage of the proposed Benguet General Hospital Renationalization law (House Bill 6849).

Yap said one of the issues raised is the added financial burden to the national government instead of the local government carrying the load.

“This bill will not only benefit Benguet, but also our neighbors in the Cordillera. We have been deprived far too long, we do not have local income like other provinces and big cities. We may not see another chance like this again to fix the system. Yung subsidy ng probinsya sa hospital, mas magagamit sana namin sa pagpapagawa ng mga bagong kalsada para mapadali ang biyahe ng mga gulay namin papunta sa trading centers at tataas ang kita ng mga magsasaka. There will be a domino effect. But right now, we are at the mercy of few people,” Yap explained.