President Rodrigo Duterte has recently signed several bills into law for the building of more health facilities and capacity expansion to improve the healthcare system of the country.
Republic Act No. 11495 will establish the Bicol Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Pamplona, Camarines Sur which is authorized “to operate a two-hundred (200)-bed capacity.”
The provincial government will have “direct supervision” over the establishment and is mandated to “provide funding.”
The bed capacity of Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Mandurriao, Iloilo will be expanded from 425 to 700 beds through Republic Act No. 11496. The “existing workforce of the WVMC shall also be correspondingly increased.”
The Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center in Las Piñas City have been authorized to boost capacity from 200 to 500 beds through Republic Act No. 11497, and Cagayan Valley Medical Center (CVMC) in Tuguegarao City from 500 to 1,000 beds through Republic Act No. 11498.
Republic Act No. 11499 provided for the expansion of capacity of Malita District Hospital in Davao Occidental and renamed it to Malita Women’s and Children’s Wellness Center, while Republic Act No. 11500 will upgrade Siargao District Hospital in Surigao Del Norte “into a Level II General Hospital” which will be named Siargao Island Medical Center.
The Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City will likewise be transformed into a 100-bed capacity health facility through Republic Act No.11501 signed on November 13, 2020. – Report from Mela Lesmoras, PTV News Online
