The city will be receiving from the public works department some P20 million to construct another health center on a city-owned property to enhance the delivery of health care services to the people on the ground.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña reported that the city government has to identify the area where the health facility will be constructed as the funds are already available in the agency and ready for downloading to the city government once all the prescribed requirements are available.
He said that the area should be wide enough to be able to accommodate the parking areas for clients.
For her part, City Health Officer Dr. Rowena Galpo recommended that the proposed health center be constructed in a 1,000-square meter city-owned property along Marcos Highway to replace the existing Atab health center which will be demolished because it will be affected by the ongoing road widening project of the public works department as the same is located within the road-right-of-way.
At present, the Atab district health center is located between the Mount Sto. Tomas Road and the Balacbac Road which serves the health needs of the residents living in the various barangays around it.
The city administrator agreed to the proposal of the city health officer to locate proposed health center along Marcos Highway to be within the reach of the city residents that it is designed to served.
Earlier, the proposed health center was to be constructed within a 535-square meter titled property of the city government that was donated by a subdivision developer but the location is distant from the other barangays that it intends to serve as it is located in Bakakeng Norte/Sur, thus, the city tried to locate for other available options which will be accessible to the residents in the barangays that it will serve.
Currently the city has 16 district health centers strategically located in the various districts around the city.
The city government located the area along Marcos highway from the list of the city’s titled properties in the inventory of the City Planning and Development Office and the City General Services Office which is the repository of the city-owned properties.
City officials are expected to conduct an ocular inspection of the proposed site of the health center to allow the preparation of the plans and specifications of the type of structure that will be constructed. By Dexter A. See