• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Bacolod Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya said Wednesday, March 12, that the national government allotted an additional P100 million for the construction of the Bacolod City General Hospital (BCGH), that is now 80 percent complete.
Gasataya said phase 1 has been completed with phase 2 around 80 percent, and the remaining finishing touches.
He said he hopes the hospital in Barangay Vista Alegre will be finished by next year. “We’re waiting for the operational plan for the hospital, dapat masuguran na prepare considering mid-2025 na.”
Phase 1 of the project, worth P200 million, started in September 2022, and involved the construction of a multipurpose or ancillary building for various facilities, including a morgue and a dietary building, as well as area development.
The contract for phase 2, or for the construction of the main hospital building, worth P192.48 million, was awarded by the Department of Public Works and Highways in Region 6 to Legacy Construction Corp., a Manila-based firm in October 2023.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez had said that the 127-bed BCGH will feature various facilities, including departments for OB-Gyn, pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine, an outpatient department, an emergency room, an operating room, an intensive care unit, a pharmacy, dental clinic, a chapel, and a diagnostic laboratory.
Gasataya is the principal author of Republic Act 11564, or the BCGH law, approved on June 24, 2021 by then president Rodrigo Duterte.
The law seeks the establishment of the BCGH, with initial funding of P600 million in the 2022 General Appropriations Act, under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Department of Health.
The BCGH will be turned over to the city government for its management and operation, and is seen to enhance and provide healthcare coverage and services for Bacolodnons and Negrenses. | CGC
