Children’s hospital to get land title for QC site

PLAYTIME AMID PAIN A young boy and his father wait for their appointment at the Cancer and Hematology Center of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center in Diliman, Quezon City, where a section of the wall bears the names and hand imprints of past patients. LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines—Finally, the country’s main public hospital for children will get to own the 3.7-hectare Quezon City property which has been its home for the last 34 years.

The National Housing Authority (NHA) on Thursday signed an agreement with the Department of Health (DOH) setting the transfer of the land title to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) upon initial payment of P500 million.

“The signing of the memorandum of agreement would put an end to the uncertainty of the ownership of the land that the PCMC has long been occupying,” Health Secretary Janette Garin said at the signing ceremony.

Land security and future improvements in PCMC facilities and equipment would enable the hospital to provide better services, Garin said.

Senate hearings last year explored ways for the 200-bed hospital to avoid “eviction” from the corner of Quezon Avenue and Agham Road in Diliman, after the NHA said it must buy the land for P1.1 billion if it wishes to stay at the site.

Sen. Bam Aquino, who witnessed Thursday’s MOA signing, noted that some P1.2 billion had been allotted for PCMC under the 2015 national budget.

Of this amount, P500 million would be given to NHA while the remaining P700 million was earmarked for the hospital’s upgrade to make it at par with private hospitals, he said.

Of the P700 million, P400 million would be used for building renovations and P300 million for the construction of a new wing, according to PCMC executive director Julius Lecciones.

“Children should be the first to benefit from the community’s progress and the last to experience the effects of our negligence,” Lecciones said.

Under the agreement (MOA), DOH needs to pay a total of P942,628,500 to the NHA. The remaining balance of P442,628,500 is pending approval in Congress for inclusion in the 2016 General Appropriations Act.

NHA general manager Chito Cruz said the money would be used by his agency to build houses for calamity victims.