Planned sale of mental hospital lot opposed

Health groups are aiming to gather a million signatures in their bid to block the sale of a government property in Mandaluyong City which houses the National Mental Health Center and the Correctional Institute for Women.

The group Alliance of Health Workers Inc. and the workers’ association of the mental hospital staged a rally in front of the hospital on Friday after they learned about the June 29 meeting of government officials, including Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, to discuss the so-called “Welfareville Development Project.”

Armando Palaganas, vice president of the National Center for Mental Health Employees Association, told the Inquirer that employees of the hospital managed to obtain a copy of the June 29 meeting’s excerpts.

According to the excerpts, a copy of which was given to the Inquirer, both the NCMH and the CIW should have been relocated and transferred before the sale of the 110-hectare land property in Mandaluyong City targeted by July 2012.

Palaganas said the proposed relocation site was a 10-hectare property in Barangay Inarawan, Antipolo City, which can accommodate around 1,000 patients only.

“This is so small compared to the current hospital capacity of 6,300 patients. This would also mean loss of jobs for us health workers,” said Palaganas, who works as a barber of the mental patients.

The health workers’ group said hospital workers and residents have been fighting against the sale of Welfareville to private institutions since 1997, during the time when the public biddings of the property during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos were held.

The two biddings at the time failed because the corporations involved did not comply with the requisites set by the government, the group said.

Among the buyers then were the owners of Filinvest, Ayala, and Robinsons.

“The general trend in public health is leading towards privatization. This is one of the proofs that the government is decreasing its subsidies intended for public hospitals,” Connie Gundayao, information officer of the Alliance of Health Workers, said.

According to group, the said property, which was intended to be transformed into a hub of commercial and residential establishments, was being eyed for development due to its strategic location.

“We are urging President Aquino to heed our call, forget the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) program, and set public health as priority,” Palaganas said.

The list of one million signatures will be submitted to President Aquino, the Congress, and the Senate, the group said.