by PNA
A plan to privatize the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), Cebu’s largest government-run hospital, has drawn opposition from the province’s top officials.
â€If it ain’t broke, why fix it?†Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said, referring to the VSMMC.
Garcia said Cebu “would lose a public regional hospital that is now so well-managed and efficiently run, and that is an important point.â€
She pointed out the hospital has become capable of procedures like heart bypass surgery, at a fraction of what private hospital would charge.
â€I speak for and in behalf of our constituents that are now enjoying the top-level services of Vicente Sotto, at a fraction of the price that they would otherwise have paid had they gone to a private hospital,†Garcia said.
The VSMMC, which the Department of Health (DOH) runs, is one of 26 hospitals nationwide considered for privatization in House Bill 6099 authored by Bacolod City Rep. Anthony Golez and Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Maranon lll.
Rep. Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu, 4th district) earlier said he will lobby before the Senate to reject the bill.
He was a member of the committee on health in the Lower House, but was outvoted during the deliberation of the bill last week.
The Cebu Provincial Board (PB), in its regular session Monday, deferred a resolution opposing the proposal.
They want a copy of the bill before they consider whether or not to pass their resolution, said Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, the presiding officer.
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