Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has expressed gratitude to Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go for the construction of the Super Health Center in Barangay Vista Alegre.
Lawyer Caesar Distrito, spokesperson of Benitez, said Monday, March 26, out of the 600 Super Health Centers in the country, 31 will be constructed in Negros Occidental including Bacolod City.
He said the Super Health Center is like a mini-hospital with a birthing facility, outpatient, laboratory, minor surgery, and pharmacy.
He added that Go will allocate a budget for the construction of the Super Health Center with a counterpart from the city government.
Go arrived in Bacolod on Sunday, March 24, for the distribution of Department of Labor and Employment (Dole)-Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Displaced/Disadvantaged (Tupad) assistance at the Bacolod City Activity Center.
Distrito said Go also turned over assistance to the fire victims in Barangays 5 and Taculing.
Aside from the Super Health Center, he said the city government will also construct four primary care facilities.
Councilor Claudio Puentevella, chairperson of the City Council committee on health, earlier said these primary care facilities will be constructed in Barangays Alijis, Cabug, Mandalagan, and Taculing.
He said they are now finalizing the total budget for the project which will be taken from the city’s loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
He added that this is one of the priority projects of Benitez.
In Himamaylan City, Mayor Raymund Tongson hopes that more national government projects will be brought to his city following the visit of Go.
On March 23, Go led the inspection of the Super Health Center in Brgy. Talaban which now at 77 percent completion.
The senator also joined Tongson and local city officials in the inauguration and blessing of the Talaban Bridge, the funding of which was personally facilitated by Go who sits as the vice chair for the Senate Committee on Finance.
“Senator Bong Go saw the active efforts of the local government to ensure quality public service for Himamaylanons. I am glad of his assurance that he will continue to lobby more projects for us and the province as a whole,” said Tongson.
Go also met with the 500 beneficiaries of the Dole-Tupad program during the orientation at the Himamaylan City Hall.
“We deeply thank Senator Bong Go for giving time to visit our humble city and for ensuring that Himamaylan receives support from the national government. I, together with the local government unit, vow to continue providing quality and fast service to our constituents,” Tongson said.
The senator, who is the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, said in his speech that there will be a total of 31 Super Health Centers that will rise in Negros Occidental in the next three years.
Himamaylan City will become the site of two of these centers in the province. The first one under construction in the city along with other centers in Bacolod and Victorias is close to completion and will be inaugurated within the year.
Meanwhile, the senator also recounted his other priorities in the Senate, which is the establishment of 161 Malasakit Centers throughout the country, and the creation of regional specialty centers.
Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital houses the Malasakit Center in the province. CLMMRH is set to become one of the 17 Department of Health-operated hospitals that will become regional specialty centers in five years, said Go.*