Lawmaker: Iloilo not a political investment destination

THE city and province of Iloilo is not a political investment destination and everyone, including government and business leaders, must do their share in selling and marketing the area, said a lawmaker on Tuesday.

Representative Ferjenel Biron (4th district of Iloilo), who is also a physician, said there is an urgent need for investment and tourism portfolios, as well as the development of health services especially in the province of Iloilo.

“No one has the monopoly of governance and the province needs a doctor-governor to lead and reform the province long ruled by lawyers,” Biron said in launching his political bid in Iloilo.

The fourth district lawmaker admitted seeing the pitiful health condition of hospitals in the province. He said he is not in favor of converting government hospitals into corporations, or corporatize the government hospitals, especially in Iloilo.

Biron said he has been subsidizing the government hospitals with medicines in the province, with P10 million to P12 million allotment every year from his priority development assistance fund.

He said the national and provincial governments must work together to help the local hospitals, and not convert these into money making ventures to the detriment of the indigents population.

The government is planning to convert and corporatize the Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City and the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Hospital in Bacolod City as an initial batch of government hospitals to be upgraded into corporations.