PGH gets P30.5-m funding from Manila mayor, others

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) on Wednesday received  from Manila Mayor Franciso “Isko Moreno”  Domagoso and other stakeholders P30.5 million that would fund treatment of children with cancer and with liver ailments.

Patients of the Department of Pediatrics, specifically children born with abnormal development of the liver, are the expected beneficiaries of half  that amount.

PGH director Gerardo Legaspi said in an interview that their target is to have five children fly to India for liver transplant. The operation would cost P4 million in the Philippines, but in India it would cost only P1.5 million.

The other half of the donation, or P15 million, would fund chemotherapy sessions of children diagnosed with cancer.

Chemotherapy would cost P120,000 to P500,000, said Legaspi.

A big chunk of the money was raised through a golf tournament organized by PGH Foundation.

Jag Jeans and its sister enterprises like Kenny Rogers and Seattle’s Best donated a total of P6 million. Included in the donation was Domagoso’s P1-million talent fee as Jag Jeans endorser.

It was Domagoso who chose the beneficiaries of the P30.5 million donation. Since 2007, Domagoso had been visiting children confined at the pediatrics ward.

He also explained why he donated the money to PGH, which is funded by the national government, instead of city government hospitals.

“I want to exert extra effort to those who are giving the right solution, in this case PGH specialize on pediatrics,” Domagoso said in an interview.