Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go sponsors Senate Bill No. 2212, which seeks to establish specialty centers in government hospitals nationwide, on May 17, 2023. (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to establish regional specialty centers in government hospitals across the country only needs to secure the approval of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The Senate and the House of Representatives separately ratified on Wednesday the bicameral conference committee report, which reconciles the disagreeing provisions in their bill with that of the Senate.
Sen. Christopher Go, head of the chamber’s health and demography panel, said the panel agreed to include a provision in the proposal to set up specialty centers in existing government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) or specialty hospitals.
“We also agreed to include in the bill the level of service capabilities of the specialty centers that the Department of Health (DOH) will be establishing in hospitals with subnational and regional catchment populations,” Go said during the Senate session.
Also included in the report is an enumeration of the specialties that should be prioritized by the DOH in implementing the measure, Go added.
“With this, we could improve access to specialized medical care. We can bring medical services closer to the people who are gravely sick but have no capacity to go to Manila to avail of services in the Philippine Health Center, Lung Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, or other special hospitals here,” the senator said, speaking partly in Filipino.
In early May, the House of Representatives approved House Bill No. 7751 — the proposed Department of Health Specialty Centers Act.
The Senate, meanwhile, passed only on Monday its counterpart measure – Senate Bill No. 2212. — a priority measure of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Marcos had said the government had started to look for more sites for specialty hospitals that could respond to the healthcare needs of Filipinos in far-flung areas.