Release funds for PGH rehab, DBM told

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and other agencies concerned should immediately release funds for the rehabilitation of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), a lawmaker said on Monday.

In House Resolution No. 1768, Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases should also “come up with stopgap measures” to ensure the state-run hospital’s continuous operation pending its rehabilitation.

The PGH is the country’s largest COVID-19 referral hospital.

Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, PGH director, had placed at P50 million the damage to property and equipment, adding that it would take at least three to four months for operations to go back to normal.

In a statement, BHW Rep. Angelica Natasha Co said the PGH should undergo a fire safety inspection and suggested that short-term options be taken to address the disruption to operations.

One option, she added, was to bring in huge container vans, which could be stacked on top of each other to build a new temporary facility at the hospital’s parking lot.

Co also proposed looking for a building near the PGH to house nonessential or least essential offices.

“Are there any owners who will volunteer their building to host some of the PGH offices? Maybe Manila Mayor Isko Moreno can help convince some building owners to help UP-PGH in [this] time of great urgent need,” she said.

She said the buildings of the hospital and the University of the Philippines Manila were already old, suggesting that the government should find new sites for the construction of new structures.

“There must be some lots within Manila where UP-PGH and UP Manila can transfer,” Co said.

The fire that struck the eight-story building for the hospital’s paying patients began around 1 a.m. on May 16. It was declared out nearly five hours later without any reports of injuries or casualties. INQ