THE bidding for the construction of Bacolod City General Hospital (BCGH) in Barangay Vista Alegre started on Wednesday, May 18.
This was confirmed by Bacolod Lone District Representative Greg Gasataya on Thursday, May 19, after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPHW) informed him about the schedule of the bidding.
Gasataya said he also talked with the donors of the property and assured them that the commitment of mayor-elect Alfredo "Albee" Benitez is to continue the project.
"When we talked early this year, he (Benitez) assured us that the BCGH project will not be affected once there's a change in the leadership in the city," he said.
Gasataya added that they are yet to discuss the final details because there were some suggestions from the Department of Health (DOH) as to the perspective of the BCGH.
The four-hectare lot in Barangay Vista Alegre was donated by the Gensoli family led by its representative, Gloria Gensoli.
On June 24, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Acct 11564, creating the Bacolod City General Hospital and appropriating funds for its establishment.
The lawmaker authored the House bill at the House of Representatives while its counterpart in the Senate was sponsored by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri.
The National Government already allotted P450 million funds for the construction of the city's hospital.
Of the amount, the P250 million was requested from the DOH, while the P200 million was the commitment of Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri.
After the bidding, Gasataya said, it will start the construction of the hospital and possibly it will be as early as July this year.
He said after the construction of the building, they will also facilitate with the DOH the procurement of the medical equipment that will be included in the 2023 national budget.
Under the guidelines of the DOH, a tertiary general hospital offers services such as family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency services, outpatient services, and ancillary and support services such as clinical laboratory, imaging facility, and pharmacy.
Facilities such as physical medicine and rehabilitation unit, ambulatory surgical clinic, dialysis clinic, tertiary clinic laboratory with histopathology, a blood bank and third-level x-ray may also be included.