Rep. Greg Gasataya of the Lone District of Bacolod City today disclosed that the Department of Health committed to implement the spirit of Republic Act 11441, which calls for the upgrading of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital into a 1,000-bed capacity health facility.
Gasataya, in an interview with NEGROS NOW DAILY, the online edition of the news magazine, Negros Weekly, said that DOH executives echoed their full support to the intent of R.A.11441, which was signed into law by President Duterte in 2018 yet.
The law, mainly authored by Gasataya, upgrades the CLMMRH from its current 400-bed capacity to 1,000.
He also authored the bill establishing the Bacolod City General Hospital to help indigents with their medical needs and decongest CLMMRH and Capitol-owned provincial hospital in Silay City.
These developments came on the heels of the House approval of the proposed 2021 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or House Bill 7727, amounting to P4.506 trillion, which included allocations needed by government to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease.
After integration of approved revisions and recommendations of the proposals of different agencies by respective House committees, the GAB of 2021 moves up to the Senate, which shall then start with another round of deliberations, Gasataya explained.
Gasataya is vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations headed by ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Go Yap.
In the budget defense and plenary deliberations, the Bacolod solon, together with Rep. Manuel “Mannix” Dalipe of Zamboanga City’s Second District, co-sponsored the DOH budget.
Main sponsor was Rep. Micaela Viola go of Nueva Ecija’s Second District.
Gasataya also co-sponsored the budget proposals of six other agencies including the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Transportation, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Metro Manila Development Authority and the Legislative-Executive Advisory Council.*ETLoretizo
