BACOLOD CITY -- Bacolodnons will soon avail of quality health services following the groundbreaking of the Bacolod City General Hospital in Barangay Vista Alegre here on Friday, Sept. 9.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who led the groundbreaking rites along with city officials led by Mayor Alfredo Abelardo ‘Albee’ Benitez and Cong. Greg Gasataya, has committed to allocate another P400 million for the completion of the said hospital by 2023.
This is on top of the P200 million that Zubiri initially allocated for the said project, while P250 million was requested from the Department of Health (DOH).
Zubiri sponsored Senate Bill 1647 which was unanimously approved on May 31, 2021, while Gasataya authored the House bill at the House of Representatives.
The following month, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11564, creating the Bacolod City General Hospital and appropriating funds for it.
Zubiri, in his message said the facility which is situated in a lot donated by the Gensoli family, will decongest existing hospitals and the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) here, allowing health workers to work within their capacity.
It will also give the constituents quality and more affordable health care and ensure an effective healthcare system for all, he added.
Dr. Adriano Suba-an, director of DOH-Western Visayas, said the hospital is a game-changer and will be one of the biggest hospitals in the region.
Suba-an said the hospital will be going to re-shape the structure of the health sector and fast track the establishment of the city’s healthcare system.
“We are assured that this project will be a successful one,” Suba-an said, adding that this will be a sustained project.
Suba-an said it is not easy to operate a hospital. Thus, they will provide technical assistance, as well as facilitate the needs of the indigents, make sure the hospital comply with the regulatory standards of a hospital facility, and ensure to collaborate with the research that will become the basis of improving the delivery of healthcare service in terms of processes and systems of a hospital.
For his part, Gasataya said that the hospital is the answer to the people’s call to have their own hospital here.
Gasataya said they are initially targeting 120 bed capacity, but it will increase if the need arises.
Meanwhile, Benitez said that this is one of the much needed facilities of the people of Bacolod.
Benitez said this will surely benefit many Bacolodnons as they will no longer experience the congestion in CLMMRH or the Teresita Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City, Negros Occidental, which is quite far from here.
Benitez welcomed the support of the national government for the said hospital which will be run by the local government.
Benitez said it will take a year or more to have the hospital operational but they will study the best ways to manage the facility well.
He said they are also planning to make road networks to make the hospital more accessible.