HEALTH. DOH Sec. Francisco Duque
(second from right) is welcomed by Gov. Erico Aumentado
together with DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero at
the inauguration and groundbreaking of the Garcia Prov'l
Hospital in Talibon town.
Foto RAYMUND BUSLON |
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Health
Secretary Francisco Duque III and Interior and Local
Government Undersecretary Austere Panadero graced Friday's
inauguration of a P10-million building and groundbreaking
for another P5 million building of the Garcia Memorial
Provincial Hospital (GMPH) in Barangay San Jose in Talibon
town.
Gov.
Erico Aumentado had waited as early as the middle of
2007 for the availability of both officials who play
vital roles in the improvement of hospitals in the country.
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Duque
confirmed this, adding that the success and effectiveness
of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
are due largely to hard-working local officials like Aumentado
who gives health top priority.
"Officials
like Gov. Aumentado makes our job a lot easier to implement
and to effect because of the level of support the local government
provides us," he said.
On
the Cheap Medicines Bill, he said, "We are not taking
from physicians the power to give the right medicines."
He
gave the comment after Aumentado said Duque solved the row
the day before.
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Aumentado
had said Duque was able to convince the Philippine Hospitals
Association during the bicameral committee meeting to
do away with the hospital holiday.
Duque
also urged the GMPH nurses and nursing students of Mater
Dei College of Tubigon, Bohol who attended the twin
ceremonies to show their love by staying and serving
in the country, and not saying that they love their
country while working in America.
The
secretary also observed that the concrete road he passed
through on the way to Talibon 114 kilometers from the
Tagbilaran City airport "is one of the best in
the Philippines - a strong evidence that you are loved
by President Arroyo."
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Duque
and Panadero flew in Friday morning and flew out back to Manila
that afternoon.
The President has high level of confidence in the administration
of Bohol because of that evidence - a mark of the kind and
quality of service the local leaders provide.
Inspired
by such, and to further improve health services, Duque said
the Department of Health (DOH) will help increase more the
membership of the Philippine Health Insurance System (PhilHealth)
that he heads.
With
some 315,000 indigent beneficiaries, Bohol is among the top
in terms of enrolment into the national health insurance system.
"This
is going to be the future of the health system. If government
hospitals provide quality and efficient services, more patients
will prefer to be confined there. This will mean bigger reimbursements
for government hospitals which amount they can use to buy
new equipment, expand and improve their buildings and provide
better health services in general," he said.
For
his part, Panadero said there is never a dull moment - it
is always inspiring to work with local officials who have
the vision of his people as his top priority.
The
Bohol model of the Kilos Asenso initiative conceptualized
by Aumentado during his term as president of both the League
of Provinces of the Philippines and Union of Local Authorities
of the Philippines has now effectively spread to the other
branches of government, he observed.
At
the same time, he apologized for the little delay in the implementation
of the Hospital Equipment Assistance Project (HEAP) because
of the change in specifications of some equipment due to a
change in policy.
The
distribution list however is ready for the President's approval,
he said.
The
P10-million building houses the operating and delivery room
complex covering 500 square meters and 12 units in the private
wards covering 363 sq. m.
YS
Construction started building it on March 1, 2007 and completed
it on October 21 of the same year.
A
solid example of the convergence strategy, Aumentado said
of the amount, P5 million came from the Office of the President.
The other P5 million came from the provincial government of
Bohol, with the support of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan under
Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera.
The
same contractor won the bidding for the construction of the
P5-million building that will house the hospital laboratory,
pharmacy and out-patient department (OPD) covering 470 sq.
m. The project duration is 120 days.
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