REVILLA FILES BUILD, BUILD, BUILD BILL TO INTENSIFY HEALTH FACILITY DEVELOPMENT

As the nation celebrates National Hospital Week, Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. pushed for the acceleration of health facilities development in the country through Senate Bill No. 26 or the "Kaayusan sa Adhikaing Pagamutan Act."

The bill aims to legislate a "Build, Build, Build" Program similar to the flagship infrastructure program of the Duterte Administration but focused on expediting the implementation of the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan to address the lack of health care infrastructures such as hospitals, polyclinics, referral laboratories, birthing centers, and other health facilities. This shall be done through upgrading and modernizing existing facilities, expanding their capacities, repairing and renovating damaged structures, and constructing new hospitals and other facilities.

"Sakaling magiging ganap na batas ang panukala natin ay magiging mabilis ang pagkilos para madagdagan ang mga ospital at iba pang health care facilities para mas makapaghanda tayo sa anumang bugso ng kaso ng sakit, lalo pa at nasa panahon pa rin tayo ng pandemya.", the veteran lawmaker said.

The piece of legislation introduced by Senator Revilla is aligned with the pronouncement of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., which he bared on his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 5, 2022, to build more hospitals in other parts of the country in order to bring medical services closer to the people.

At present, the Department of Health (DOH) reports that only the National Capital Region and Northern Mindanao meet the ideal hospital bed-to-population ratio of 1:800. In some areas of the country, the said ratio is at 1:4000. During the past surges of COVID-19 cases in the country, the health care system had been overwhelmed often due to the low bed capacity in government hospitals.

"Kung maisasaayos at mapapalawak pa ang ating mga health care facilities at makapagtatayo ng mas accessible na mga ospital ay mas marami tayong kababayang mabibigyan ng serbisyong medikal at maiiwasan na madagdagan pa ang bilang ng mga binabawian ng buhay," Sen. Revilla ended.

As mandated by Proclamation No. 181 s. 1993 of the late President Fidel V. Ramos, National Hospital Week is celebrated every August 6 to 12 of every year to recognize the important role hospitals assume in promoting, safeguarding, and preserving the health of the people.