What Went Before: Gov’t hospital privatization

In February 2014, then Health Secretary Enrique Ona said that all 72 hospitals operated by the Department of Health (DOH) were candidates for privatization under the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) program.

The PPP is broadly defined as a contractual agreement between the government and a private firm targeted toward financing, designing, implementing and operating infrastructure facilities and services that are traditionally provided by the public sector.

The program was launched in 2010 as a flagship program of the Aquino administration. In the healthcare sector, it was a strategy to modernize public hospitals.

The P5.6-billion modernization program of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, approved by President Aquino in September 2012, was the first health-related project under the PPP scheme.

Two months later, the DOH issued an invitation to qualify to bid and held a prebidding conference in January 2013 with nine prospective bidders. The project was awarded to Megawide Construction Corp. and World Citi Consortium.

The Aquino administration has allotted P3 billion as its equity in the PPP Strategic Support Fund program for the DOH-run hospitals.

Among the other government hospitals under the PPP are Dr.Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital and Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.

Source: Inquirer Archives