Dasma Gov’t spends P1-B for Pagamutan ng Dasmariñas construction
The blessing and inauguration of the Pagamutan ng Dasmariñas was attended by various government and non-government officials of the City of Dasmariñas on June 28
The Dasmariñas City Government allocated approximately P1 billion to fund the construction of the newly-built public hospital Pagamutan ng Dasmariñas located along PC Campos Avenue which will open on July 28, according to Dasmariñas City Mayor Elpidio “Pidi” Barzaga Jr.
“It took us 18 years before we were able to realize that the public hospital is more or less P1-B including the building, equipment, and everything you see inside the hospital,” Barzaga said.
He pointed out that they subsidized all the expenses in the construction from the Dasmariñas City Government fund and did not seek financial support from former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Department of Health, or any private sector.
Barzaga said the Pagamutan ng Dasmariñas was initially a project of his wife Dasmariñas Congresswoman Jennifer Barzaga and one of the platforms in their 1998 election campaign.
He added that the public hospital’s construction was accomplished within three to four years.
For the ‘poor’
The Pagamutan ng Dasmariñas was constructed to provide quality healthcare to the Dasmariñas residents, particularly for those who can only afford hospitalization at a low price or for free, as per Barzaga.
He clarified that they did not provide any private or semi-private confinement rooms for patients since it would require additional costs.
Since 55 percent of the city’s population reside in resettlement areas, he said the informal settlers find it “very expensive” to be hospitalized.
“Like any other Local Government Unit, the City of Dasmariñas has so many poor constituents. It was aggravated by the fact that Dasmariñas happens to be a big resettlement area,” Barzaga added.
For health care programs, he mentioned that free doctors, medicines, rooms, and laboratory examinations are provided for confined patients who are Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries selected through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The patients who are Social Security System members will receive Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) coverage which will reduce the cost of their hospital bills, he added.
“If your total expenditure in the hospital is P50,000 based on our subsidized rate, PhilHealth will be paying P30,000 [but] the patient has to pay the P20,000 balance,” Barzaga explained.
Meanwhile, he said that non-Dasmariñas patients can be accepted for treatment in line with emergency cases such as traffic accidents; however, Dasmariñas residents will be more prioritized by the public hospital.
“Kasi minsan ‘yong mga basic social service namin, lahat gustong mag-avail kahit hindi taga-Dasma. Ang problema, hindi naman ako ang gobernador ng probinsiya (Dasmariñas). Hindi naman sa nagmamaramot kami, pero we cannot provide all the needs of our people,” Barzaga argued.
High-tech features
Barzaga mentioned that the 11-storey public hospital has modern equipment such as computerized tomography (CT) scanners, magnetic resonance imaging, mammography, and ultrasound machines and X-rays.
According to him, the city government provided the hospital with 15 dialysis machines with television sets, each designed to provide leisure time for patients undergoing long hours of treatment.
He said the Dasmariñas City Government hired at least 600 employees to manage the public hospital. With a report from Jazmine Estorninos
