The first hospital exclusively for overseas Filipino workers and their families broke ground again in San Fernando, Pampanga.
This is the second groundbreaking ceremony for the much anticipated OFW hospital which officials claim to offer free health services to all OFWs and their families.
Last year, then House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Labor Secretary Silvester Bello III and then Pampanga Gov. Lilia led the groundbreaking.
Today’s groundbreaking ceremony came a few days after a memorandum of understanding was signed among partners — the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Health, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the Pampanga provincial government, and Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc. at Kingsborough International Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
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It was not immediately known why the construction was delayed but Arroyo had earlier requested the House of Representatives committees on health to sponsor a bill creating the OFW Hospital. The DBM, she said, suggested that a bill be passed so funding for the operations of the hospital will continue in the next years.
The House of Representatives passed House Bill No. 9202 creating the OFW Hospital, but Senate failed to have its own counterpart bill before the session adjourned last year.
As earlier reported, the OFW Hospital is envisioned to provide free “tertiary level care” to all active and non-active members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and their legal dependents. The five-storey building with a 100-bed capacity will be equipped with dialysis and cancer centers.
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The Php550-million hospital will be financed by Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc., the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of billionaire Enrique Razon’s Solaire Resort and Casino.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), meanwhile, will donate Php200 million worth of hospital equipment.
The project is targeted to be completed in time for the Labor Day celebration on May 1, 2021.
Sen. Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, PAGCOR chairperson Andrea Domingo and Pampanga Gov. Dennis Padilla led the groundbreaking inside the Pampanga Engineering Office compound.
