OZAMIZ CITY – Residents here cheered as President Rodrigo Duterte on June 25, 2021, signed into law several health -related bills which included the bill Increasing the bed capacity of the Mayor Hilarion A. Ramiro Sr. Medical Center.
Duterte said the signing of the bill manifests the government’s commitment to providing the Filipino people “equitable and sustainable service” in healthcare.
In a signing ceremony attended by some members of Congress at Malacañang, the President signed 16 laws, 13 of which were health-related and sought to increase the bed capacity of hospitals in various parts of the country.
“Thirteen of these laws are health related and are all very crucial in strengthening the capacity of our healthcare system as we continue to overcome the current pandemic,” Duterte said in his speech.
The new laws, according to Duterte would “make quality medical service more accessible to our peoples especially those in the far flung area.”
“Increasing the bed capacity of existing public hospitals will likewise augment inventory of such needed hospital beds that we badly need as we deal with the pandemic,” he added.
The President likewise assured frontliners addressing the pandemic that the “government cares about their plight.”
The following were laws signed by the President in the ceremony:
- Increasing the bed capacity of the Naguilian District Hospital
- Increasing the bed capacity of the Rosario District Hospital
- Increasing the bed capacity of the Sinait District Hospital
- Establishing the Bacolod City General Hospital
- Increasing the bed capacity of the Mayor Hilarion A. Ramiro Sr. Medical Center
- Converting the Medina Extension Hospital into the first Misamis Oriental General Hospital
- Converting the Schistosomiasis Control and Research Hospital into the Governor Benjamin T. Romualdez General Hospital and Schistosomiasis Center
- Renaming Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center into the Eastern Visayas Medical Center
- Establishing the Davao Occidental General Hospital
- Establishing the Conrado F. Estrella Regional Medical and Trauma Center
- Increasing the bed capacity of the East Avenue Medical Center
- Establishing the Senate President Neptali A. Gonzales General Hospital
- Increasing the bed capacity of the lying-in clinic in Rizal, Palawan
- Converting the Basilan State College into the Basilan State University
- Renewing the franchise of the Baycomms Broadcasting Corporation for another 25 years
- Reapportioning the province of Bataan into three (3) legislative district
Misamis Occidental Second district representative and Deputy House Speaker Henry S. Oaminal who authored the bill to increase the bed capacity of the Mayor Hilarion A. Ramiro Medical Center said, the increased bed capacity from 500 to1,00 is a big leap to the health program of his province especially now that government hospital’s are running out of beds to cope up to the increasing numbers of Coronavirus cases.
