The Philippine Coast Guard is proposing the creation of the country’s first hospital ship that would cater to patients during calamities and can travel closest to the far-flung villages.

During the Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANA MO) 2020 summit on September 25, Admiral George Ursabia, Jr., Coast Guard commandant, revealed the proposal to build the Philippines’ Hospital Ship, saying it’s “now high time for the Philippines to realize its first-ever hospital ship.”

“The Hospital Ship, which can be built through sovereign source – something that has not been done in the past — will allow us to protect the Filipino people, not only from armed threats, but from the ill effects of life-threatening and destructive consequences of natural and man-made disasters and calamities, major incidents in far-flung communities with inaccessible terrains, and from all forms of ecological damages,” Ursabia said.

The hospital ship will be around 70 to 85 meters in length with the speed of more than 25 knots and a range of 4,000 nautical miles, the commandant added.

To be manned by 20 PCG medical personnel or medical volunteers from concerned non-government organizations (NGOs), the hospital ship may endure more than 45 days of non-stop operations at sea equipped with at least five patient wards and two operating rooms, as well as x-ray, dental, consultation, and medical laboratories.

“It will also have a sea ambulance in the form of a high-speed watercraft, a heli-deck, beaching ramp, cargo ramp, and hyperbaric chamber among others to ensure that needed medical assistance may immediately be provided to victims in far-flung communities with no established health care institutions,” Ursabia said.

Ursabia said that the hospital ship can be built using a P4-billion budget that may be sourced from the general annual appropriations fund or the existing national emergency fund amid the pandemic.

Under the proposed spending, P3 billion will cover the construction and P1 billion fund for equipment and facilities.

The Coast Guard commandant also shared that a world-class local shipbuilding company in Cebu has the capacity to construct the proposed hospital ship which may take 18 to 24 months.

Partner international shipbuilding companies in Singapore, South Korea, France, and the United States may also be tapped for the project, he said.

A public-private partnership (PPP) agreement is also proposed for its sustainability, managed by a multi-sectoral advisory board (MSAB) to ensure that it will be resilient and continue to evolve despite changing leadership.

“The acquisition, therefore, presents a wise investment well-worth the cost as was proven historically. To archipelagic countries like the Philippines, the Hospital Ship is an indispensable tool for disaster response. Our country need not wait for the next disaster and wish it had at least one,” Ursabia stressed.