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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Romualdez: It took another President Marcos to modernize PCMC

Romualdez: It took another President Marcos to modernize PCMC

Published Apr 29, 2025 07:17 am

At A Glance

  • It took another President Marcos to realize the modernization of Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC), a specialty hospital in Quezon City, House Speaker Martin Romualdez said.

20250429_144035.jpgHouse Speaker Martin Romualdez (left), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (PPAB, Facebook)

It took another President Marcos to realize the modernization of Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), a specialty hospital in Quezon City.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez highlighted this on Tuesday, April 29 as he lead the groundbreaking rites of the PCMC’s 20-story Advanced Pediatric Services building at the corner of Quezon and Sen. Miriam Defensor Avenues in Quezon City.

The project is part of President Marcos' so-called Legacy Specialty Hospitals. Many such hospitals were established during the time of his father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

“Hindi po ito mangyayari nang basta-basta. Kinailangan ang isa pang Marcos sa Malacañang para muling buuin ang pangarap ng sambayanan na maiangat ang PCMC (This would not happen easily. It required another Marcos in Malacañang to rebuild the nation's dream of uplifting the PCMC),” Romualdez said in his speech at the event.

Romualdez said the centers would benefit thousands of children suffering from these complicated diseases.

“Malayo na ang narating ng PCMC. Pero alam nating lahat—mas malayo pa ang mararating nito kung tulong-tulong at sama-sama tayong kikilos, hindi lamang kaming mga taga-Kongreso. Bilang Speaker, kaisa niyo ako at ang buong House of Representatives, hindi lamang sa salita, kundi sa gawa,” he stressed.

(The PCMC has come a long way. But we all know—it can go even further if we work together and act as one, not just us in Congress. As Speaker, I stand united with you and the entire House of Representatives, not just in words, but in action.)

The Speaker told hospital doctors, nurses, administrators, staff, patients, their families and other stakeholders that last year upon the guidance of President Marcos, Congress allocated funds for PCMC specifically for the Advanced Comprehensive Center for Pediatric Brain and Spine and the Pediatric Cancer Center.

The 20-story building will have a 500-bed capacity and will be equipped with the latest medical technology.

Imelda's dream

He added that continued funding for the Children’s Medical Center was also a way of fulfilling the dream of then First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, who built the cluster of specialty hospitals in the East Avenue-Quezon Avenue area to provide quality health care to Filipinos.

The cluster includes PCMC (formerly Lungsod ng Kabataan), Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines and National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI).

“Sa araw na ito, hindi lang tayo naglulunsad ng isang proyekto. Nagbibigay tayo ng pag-asa. Hindi ito simula. Hindi rin ito katapusan. Ito’y pagpapatuloy ng pangarap — isang pangarap na nagsimula noong 1979, nang itatag ni dating First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos ang Lungsod ng Kabataan,” Romualdez said.

(Today, we are not just launching a project. We are giving hope. This is not the beginning, nor is it the end. It is the continuation of a dream—a dream that began in 1979 when former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos established the Lungsod ng Kabataan.)

“Nagsimula ito bilang isang tahanan para sa mga batang kailangan ng espesyal na pag-aalaga. Naniniwala ang dating unang ginang, at tayong lahat, na ang kinabukasan ng bansa ay nakasalalay sa kalusugan ng kabataan,” he added.

(It started as a home for children who needed special care. The former First Lady, and all of us, believed that the future of the nation depends on the health of the youth.)

“Sa bagong yugto ng PCMC, muli nating ibinabalik ang orihinal na layunin nito: Itayo ang pinakamahusay na pasilidad para sa mga bata. Gumamit ng pinakamataas, pinaka-sophisticated, at pinakabago o state-of-the-art technology. Magtayo ng tunay na multi-specialty center na gagamot sa pinakamalalang sakit ng ating kabataan, na magiging investment hindi lamang para sa kasalukuyan, kundi para sa susunod na isandaang taon,” Speaker Romualdez said.

(In this new chapter of PCMC, we are once again returning to its original purpose: to build the best facility for children. To use the highest, most sophisticated, and state-of-the-art technology. To establish a true multi-specialty center that will treat the most severe illnesses of our youth, which will be an investment not only for the present but for the next hundred years.)

Related Tags

Imelda Marcos Martin Romualdez PCMC PBBM Specialty hospitals
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