OFW hospital to have state-of-the-art facilities

MANILA, Philippines — The soon-to-be-constructed hospital for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will have state-of-the-art facilities, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.        

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the acquisition and installation of the facilities for the first-ever DOLE-OFW hospital and diagnostics center will be funded from the P150-million Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) donation.

He added that the hospital would provide the medical needs and services, as well as subsidy programs, of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for OFWs, their families and dependents.

“This hospital is in recognition of the valuable contribution of our modern-day heroes, the overseas Filipino workers, in the growth of our economy. This will serve as among the legacies that President Duterte can leave behind for our OFWs,” Bello noted.

The Department of Health (DOH) will manage the P400-million hospital upon its completion in 2020. It will be constructed on a two-hectare property in Barangay Sindalan, which was donated by the provincial government of Pampanga.

Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc. will shoulder the construction cost.

OWWA chief Hans Cacdac said a memorandum of understanding on the hospital’s construction is now being finalized.        

“The details are not yet final and even the bed capacity, the level of medical care, such as primary, secondary and tertiary, the plantilla staffing and the budget, but we hope to construct the hospital within one and a half years, within the Duterte administration,” Cacdac pointed out.        

He said Bloomberry officials are discussing with their engineers and architects the construction of project.