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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House measure on building more hospitals dedicated to veterans moves forward

House measure on building more hospitals dedicated to veterans moves forward

Published Aug 12, 2020 01:14 pm

A measure mandating the construction of three more dedicated hospitals for war veterans and retired soldiers similar to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City has moved forward in the House of Representatives.

MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO

Taken up by the House Committee on Health during a virtual hearing Wednesday was House Bill (HB) No.49, the proposed Act establishing Veterans Memorial Medical Centers in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Former Navy Lieutenant, Magdalo Party-List Rep. Manuel Cabochan III penned the bill.

HB No.49 provides that the proposed Luzon hospital for veterans be located outside Metro Manila as there is already the VMMC.

Committee chairman, Quezon 4th district Rep. Angelina Tan approved the creation of a technical working group (TWG) on the bill, paving the way for a more focused discussion on the measure.

Currently, the 65-year-old VMMC, which was fully funded by the United States (US) government by virtue of US Public Law 865, remains the sole facility in the archipelago dedicated to the hospitalization and medical care of veterans and their dependents.

"Many of our soldiers and veterans are facing difficulties in travelling to Quezon City to receive consultation, monthly checkups, and treatment at the VMMC. The difficulties and cost of travel becomes a struggle for most veterans, especially for those who live in the northern and southern-most parts of the country. Thus, there is a need to increase the accessibility of health care services for the veterans," Cabochan said in his sponsorship speech.

The bill provides for a minimum capacity of 25 beds each for the three new hospitals to be supervised by the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO).

PVAO administrator Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina manifested his "strong support" to the congressman's proposal. He told the panel that having such hospitals is a "very important requirement in taking care of our veterans."

"We have only one veterans hospital, the one in Quezon City. We have veterans from all over the country, even in Tawi Tawi, Sulu. We have a growing number of veterans. It's a big community. They are silent and unnoticed," said Carolina, who acted as a resource person in the hearing.

He noted that Taiwan, a relatively small country, has eight veteran hospitals, while Thailand has 20. He said that the VMMC wasn't even built by the Philippine government, but by the US as a gift to Filipinos after World War II.

Department of Health (DOH) Development Management Officer IV Roderick Napulan estimated the cost of building the proposed hospitals at P500 million each.

Napulan, citing a draft position paper of the DOH, said the agency "acknowledges the good intention of the proposed measure that aims to ensure the delivery of adequate healthcare for Filipino veterans and their dependents in line with the Constitution."

However, it aired reservations on the bill in view of the existing agreement between the DOH and PVAO on the establishment of veterans wards in selected DOH hospitals nationwide. These selected hospitals will be equipped and capacitated to provide quality care for veterans.

Napulan said that instead of building new veterans hospitals, the DOH recommended that the veterans hospitalization and healthcare program be fully implemented instead.

Cabochan said he would wait for the DOH secretary to sign and finalize its position paper. Further discussion on the bill will be done by the TWG.

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