Garcia: No to VSMMC privatization

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is  opposing the proposed privatization of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).

In a press conference yesterday, Garcia said that the privatization of the  hospital would mean losing a good public regional hospital that has been serving the poor well.

Progressive lawmakers meanwhile said that  with  the move to privatize the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) along with 25 other hospitals run by the Dept. of Health (DOH) around the country, “it is not far off that these public hospitals would become like malls or pawnshops.”

The governor said that converting the VSMMC into a government-owned and -controlled corporation is not just a loss to Cebuanos but the whole Central Visayas as well as it has become the regional referral hospital.

“It has upgraded its facilities, equipment and medical personnel to be at par with private hospitals,” she added.

To prove her point, Garcia said the VSMMC is now capable of doing open-heart bypass surgery.

“I speak for and on behalf of our constituents who are now enjoying the top-level services of Vicente Sotto at a fraction of the price that they would’ve otherwise paid if they go to private hospitals,” she said.

House Bill 6099, which was approved last week at the House of Representatives, would allow the 26 hospitals to contract loans, grants and seal joint ventures to expand or build private rooms for paying patients.

Party-list groups under the Makabayan coalition said the approval of the bill was railroaded as stakeholders and affected sectors were not given sufficient notice, time and opportunity to air their concerns.

“What the Committee on Health did was below the belt and borders on  conspiracy. The hasty approval of the bill in the committee last Wednesday, May 16, violated the rules of the House of Representatives,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño.

Casiño further said the experience with the four privatized government hospitals now shows that the model is not “pro-poor.”

“For example, in the privatized Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP), only the services of the doctor is free, all the facilities, medicine, food, rooms have fees even for Class D patients, even the consultation at the out-patient department (OPD),” Casiño added.

For the bill to become a law, a counterpart bill has to be approved in the Senate. /Carmel Loise Matus, Correspondent