Re-nationalization of BeGH to improve services, says Yap

The operation and management of the Benguet General Hospital will be improved further under the management of the Department of Health, according to Benguet Caretaker Rep. Eric Go Yap.
Yap, in his visit to the province last week, met with local government officials led by Gov. Melchor Diclas and BeGH management to discuss his bill bringing back the medical facility’s management to the national government through the DOH.
Yap filed House Bill 6171 for the re-nationalization of the BeGH and raising the hospital’s bed capacity from 200 to 400.
“There will be improvement in the re-nationalization of BeGH. This includes the upgrading of the salaries of employees such as the nurses. The funds of the provincial government could also be used for other projects,” Yap said.
He assured the current staff of the hospital will be retained once the hospital is turned over to the national government.
He lauded the provincial government for their support in the proposed re-nationalization of BeGH.
“I was told by the House Speaker to look for other LGUs that are willing to re-nationalize their hospitals so our voice would be stronger,” he said.  
Diclas said the House bill on BeGH will be subjected to a public hearing Feb. 26 to be attended among others by DOH Usec. Roger Tong-an, who earlier pushed for the re-nationalization of BeGH.
BeGH acting chief of hospital, Dr. Meliarazon Dulay, welcomed the proposal, saying it would greatly improve the services to be offered by the medical facility and said they would support the provincial government’s decision. 
The BeGH, which is currently managed and funded by the provincial government, is a secondary hospital established in 1969. The hospital started its operation in October 1971 and was under the management of DOH until 1993.
It was devolved to the province through the Local Government Code of 1991 with a 50-bed capacity.
The hospital was upgraded to a 200-bed capacity hospital when the new building was constructed in March 2000 through a grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. – Ofelia C. Empian