Press Release
May 15, 2009

Loren committee promises enactment of laws creating
district hospitals, improved health care

The Senate Committee on Health and Demography, chaired by Sen. Loren Legarda, yesterday acted swiftly on pending bills providing for the construction of more district hospitals and the upgrading and expansion of existing government hospitals in the regions, provinces and municipalities.

During a hearing conducted by the committee, Senator Legarda asked the Department of Health to provide the committee with information necessary to push for the speedy passage by the Senate of the healthcare enhancement measures, some of which have already been approved by the House of Representatives.

Dr. Soledad Antonio, a representative of the Health Planning and Development Bureau of the Department of Health, forwarded the recommendations of regional directors on the various proposed measures on local health bills during yesterday's committee hearing.

A total of eleven proposed measures, including seven from the House of Representatives, were tackled and approved by the committee during the hearing intended to assess the healthcare situation in several localities and to determine the merits of the proposed measures.

"Precisely we are here (in the hearing) to assess the situation and at the same time propose alternatives that seek to address present and foreseen healthcare problems," Loren explained.

Loren promised that the committee would act with dispatch on the pending bills, including House Bill No. 889 for the establishment of 25-bed capacity municipal hospital in Aguinaldo, Ifugao province, HB 1421 and Senate counterpart SBN 2913 for the establishment of Malaria, Tropical and Infectious Disease research and Treatment Institute in Sibutu, Tawi-Tawi, HB 2114 seeking to convert the Batangas regional Hospital into Batangas Medical Center, HB 2879 to upgrade the Severo Verallo Memorial District hospital in Taytayan,Bogo City, Cebu.

Also discussed in the hearing were HB 5926 and counterpart SBN 3135 for changing the name of Davao Medical Center to Southern Philippines Medical Center, and SBN 5927 for increasing bed capacity of Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban City.

Of the bills discussed yesterday, Loren said the DOH has agreed to increase the bed capacity of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban City as proposed in HB 5927 from 254 to 400.

The DOH, according to Loren, also supported HB 2114, HB 5926/SBN 3135 and HB 1450/SBN2913 which are bills that propose the establishment of district hospitals and disease research institutes.

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