President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11564, creating the Bacolod City General Hospital and appropriating funds for its establishment.
“Finally, our dream of having our own hospital in Bacolod City will soon be realized,” said Lone District Representative Greg Gasataya, who authored the bill in the House of Representatives.
RA 11564 was among the 16 legislative bills, the majority of which address the establishment of public hospitals and increasing the bed capacities of existing hospitals across the country, included during a ceremonial signing held at the Rizal Hall in Malacañan Palace.
“We thank President Rodrigo Duterte for enacting our proposed measure.”
“It is with great honor that I bring news that House Bill 6731 which we authored has been signed into law by President Duterte. We thank President Rodrigo Duterte for enacting our proposed measure,” Gasataya said.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who missed the signing rites at the Palace because of family commitment, said it would have been an honor and privilege to witness the President signing the bill on the special occasion.
“I am very thankful to the Office of the President for inviting me to the signing ceremony. Likewise, I thank Senator Bong Go for his advance invitation to this occasion even before the bill was finally approved in the Senate,” Leonardia added.
“It is one of the campaign promises of my political party Grupo Progreso in the 2019 elections.”
The mayor said the approval of the bill creating the Bacolod City General Hospital is of great significance to his administration because it is one of the campaign promises of his political party Grupo Progreso in the 2019 elections.
“Once again, I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate Congressman Greg Gasataya and Senator Migz Zubiri for sponsoring the bill in the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively,” he added.
On May 31, Senate Bill 1647 sponsored by Zubiri was unanimously approved by the 23 senators.
Gasataya acknowledged the support of the veteran legislator as well as of Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Go, chair of the health committee.
The Senate has allotted a budget of P600 million for the establishment of the Bacolod City General Hospital, which will be included in the 2022 General Appropriations Act under the Department of Health-Health Facilities Enhancement Program.
After the Senate’s second reading approval on May 27, Leonardia said the city would seriously pursue prospective donors of the lot for the hospital.
“In coordination with Congressman Greg, we hope to finalize soon a deed of donation of an appropriate area,” he added.
