Borongan mayor pushes for 3rd hospital in Eastern Samar city

TACLOBAN CITY—Officials of Borongan, Eastern Samar province are pushing plans for their city to have its own hospital.

The proposed Borongan hospital will have a 50-bed capacity and be built at an estimated cost of P100 million.

Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda said he had been hesitating to push plans to build the hospital but had a change of heart when he saw his people’s medical needs growing and compounded by COVID-19, which has no confirmed treatment yet.

In a statement, he said the COVID-19 “onslaught” gave him anxiety “as mayor since the city has no decent place to house would-be patients.”

“I wish to push through with the hospital of our own,” he said.

There are currently two health facilities in Borongan—the 100-bed capacity Eastern Samar Provincial Hospital (ESPH) and the private Borongan Doctors Hospital (BDH) which has 60 beds.

Dr. Raul Villanueva, Borongan health officer, said the city needed an additional facility for the people’s health needs.

He said the two hospitals in Borongan are bursting at the seams. ESPH currently has an occupancy rate of 119 percent while BDH has a 158 percent occupancy rate.

More patients are turning to the two hospitals, he added.

The proposed two-floor hospital, to be owned by the city government, was expected to service patients from other parts of Eastern Samar.

Construction was expected to start before the year is over and on completion of permits and other documentary requirements.

Borongan has 21 COVID-19 cases. Eighteen are recoveries.

TSB