Mister President, with the indulgence of Senator Christopher Bong Go, I would like to be made co-sponsor of Senate Bill No. 2212 under Committee Report No. 67, entitled An Act Establishing Specialty Centers in Hospitals Under the Direct Supervision and Control of the Department of Health and Appropriating Funds Therefor.
I am in full support of this “Regional Specialty Centers Act” which mandates the DOH to establish specialty centers in DOH-identified hospitals in every region, in coordination with the National Specialty Centers such as the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP), the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), among others.
The DOH shall ensure that the specialty centers in DOH hospitals have expert personnel and medical specialists provided with necessary training and appropriate specialist equipment. The DOH shall prioritize funding for capital outlay investment for specialty centers through the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HPEF) and other fund sources. Furthermore, the DOH, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), shall develop and implement the staffing pattern and standards for these specialty centers.
Ayon nga po sa tinuran ng ating Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos sa kanyang State of the Nation Address, na marapat lamang na ang mga serbisyo ng ating mga specialty hospitals ay hindi lamang dapat dito sa National Capital Region available, kundi maging sa ibang parte ng bansa. Kailangang magdagdag ng ganitong uri ng pagamutan upang mailapit natin ang health care system sa taumbayan. At tama naman po ang pangulo.
Batid nating lahat ang kahalagahan na mailapit ang mga importante at kinakailangang serbisyo medikal sa paggagamot sa buong rehiyon sa Pilipinas para sa mga sakit sa puso o cardio-vascular diseases, sa mga sakit sa baga, sa sakit sa bato, sa mga sakit ng mga bata o pediatric cases, sa sakit na cancer, na siyang mga sakit na pangunahing sanhi ng pagkamatay sa Pilipinas.
This was my intention when I filed Senate Bill No. 807 entitled, “An Act Providing for the Establishment of the Breast Care Centers in Every Region Nationwide Appropriating Funds Therefor and For Other Purposes,” to which I am happy to have been considered in the crafting of the substitute bill under this committee report.
I would like to commend the efforts of the Committee on Health and Demography, and all my fellow authors, for pushing through with these measures which seek for the establishment and creation of more heart centers, lung centers, kidney centers, cancer centers, children centers all throughout the nation, where these types of specialized care and treatments are badly and desperately needed. This is in pursuit of our noble aspirations for a competent, realiable, available and accessible universal health care sytem for all filipinos.
Thank You, Mister President.