January 27th, 2022
House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda (Albay, 2nd district) says that the enactment of the bill converting the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) into a general and subspecialty hospital “is almost certain” as the Senate has approved without amendment House Bill No. 8228, which Salceda principally authored and sponsored.
Under the measure, the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital located in the Municipality of Daraga, Province of Albay will be converted into a general and subspecialty hospital to be known as the Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center (BRHMC). The bill also increases the authorized bed capacity of the hospital from 250 to 800.
“This will realize a longstanding dream among Albayanos to have quality affordable medical care for every medical need, and to have access to it within their own province,” Salceda said.
Salceda also thanked President Duterte “for his continuous support for the BRTTH”, and Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go “for moving the measure quickly in the Senate.”
“This would not have happened without the strong support of the national government. I also thank the Senate and House leaderships for moving this bill forward,” Salceda added.
“In 2018, we reaffirmed a longstanding dream to modernize the BRTTH, with the strong support of President Duterte. The BRTTH now includes a PhilHealth Ward, P580-million equipment modernization; its Trauma ER; its Bicol Cancer Institute, and its MRI center through our efforts to work with the National Government. We now also have a 600-bed capacity hospital building under construction and a Bicol Regional Heart Center,” Salceda said during his sponsorship speech in the Senate Committee on Health
Salceda also highlighted the importance of the hospital to the Bicol Region.
“The BRTTH is the PGH of the Bicol Region. It is the training hospital for the Bicol University College of Medicine, which is one of the first state medical schools in this country, outside the University of the Philippines System, to offer free tuition to a significant share of its students. The BRTTH allows us the BU-CM to produce doctors who are prepared for the real-life challenges of public health and medicine in a developing country,” Salceda said.
“The BRTTH is also Albay’s COVID-19 treatment facility. It is the beating heart of our pandemic response,” Salceda added.
Salceda says that he expects that the Senate will approve the measure on 3rd reading by next week.
“I think the Senate will approve this measure on final reading next week, so that we can get this done before President Duterte’s term ends. We are counting on Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, a fellow Albayano, to help us make sure the bill is on the table for approval before the break,” Salceda added. #