DESPITE opposition from Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro, Fifth District Representative Duke Frasco has renewed his push to convert the Danao Provincial Hospital into a Department of Health (DOH)-run facility through House Bill (HB) 3313.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, Frasco said his proposed bill would make the hospital the “Vicente Sotto of the North,” apparently in reference to the DOH-run regional hospital in Cebu City, the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).
“Cong. Duke Frasco Pushes HB 3313 to convert Danao Provincial Hospital into DOH-run ‘Vicente Sotto of the North’,” reads a portion of Frasco’s post.
According to Frasco, under his proposal, the Cebu Provincial Government would no longer need to fund the hospital’s operations or pay the salaries of its doctors and nurses.
“If it’s transferred to the DOH, it won’t be under the Province anymore. It will become a Level 2 or even a Level 3 hospital. We can add doctors, nurses, and medicines,” said Frasco in Cebuano.
He said the savings could be used to improve other provincial hospitals such as the infirmary in Sogod, which he said, could be upgraded to a Level 1 hospital.
Frasco has refiled the bill in the current 20th Congress after the measure failed to pass in the 18th and 19th Congress.
Last Aug. 11, Frasco appealed to Baricuatro and the Provincial Board to support HB 3313, which seeks an upgrade of the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Danao City into a fully equipped Level 2 hospital to be known as the North Cebu Medical Center.
However, Baricuatro brushed aside the proposed bill, saying Frasco’s measure is not necessary to upgrade the medical facility.
Baricuatro also asked Frasco to focus on the construction of the Liloan Children’s Hospital (LCH) before asking for the upgrade of the Danao City Provincial Hospital.
However, Frasco on August 14 clarified that the Provincial Government is responsible for funding the LCH.
Frasco is the son-in-law of former governor Gwendolyn Garcia, who lost to Baricuatro in the May 2025 midterm elections. / CDF