ILOILO City – Former senator JV “Mr. Healthcare” Ejercito checked on Thursday, along with Iloilo City’s Rep. Julienne “Jam-jam” Baronda, the ongoing construction of Western Visayas Medical Center’s (WVMC) six-storey Regional Heart and Lung Specialty Center which he facilitated when he was the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health.
“It is already taking shape. I’m quite happy and proud as this started when I was the chairman of the Committee on Health… I took the opportunity to visit since ari ako diri sa Iloilo,” Ejercito told local reporters upon inspecting the P600-million project under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Department of Health.
He vowed to closely work with Rep. Baronda, Rep. Mike Gorriceta and the rest of the legislators from Western Visayas when he gets elected to the Senate to make sure that the funding requirement for the completion of the entire project is made available. For the specialty center to be fully operational, P1.2 billion is needed.
He is also glad that Rep. Baronda’s priority legislation to increase WVMCs bed capacity from 425 to 700 was enacted into law.
“Kailangan talaga ng dagdag na mga doktor, nurses at health workers bago pa man nitong COVID pandemic. Mas lalo na ngayon. So tutulungan natin si Cong. Jam na masigurado na ma-fully implement talaga itong Republic Act 11496,” assured Ejercito.
On Wednesday, Ejercito met with Mayor Jerry Treñas along with Baronda, who is his former political affairs officer, and expressed his full support for the Uswag Iloilo City Hospital, which will be funded by the city government and will also be nationally funded once House Bill 8601 creating it authored by Baronda gets passed into law.
Treñas expressed his full support for his senatorial candidacy as he has done a lot of transformational and visionary laws when he was in the Senate such as the UHCL and the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
As the principal author of the UHCL, Ejercito said he feels it is his mission to fully realize its implementation.
“The Universal Health Care Law is a working progress…As the principal sponsor, I feel it is my mission to really complete it. I want it to be effective, to be implemented properly. That is why I decided to run again for the Senate,” Ejercito explained.
He noted it is a five- to 10-year program and, like the specialty center for Western Visayas particularly at WVMC, the plan is to establish specialty centers in Northern Luzon, one in Bicol Region, one in Central Visayas and one in Northern Mindanao.
“Dito meron ng sariling kidney, heart and lung center na hindi kailangan magkadto pa sa Manila kapag mayroong complicated cases. So that was the plan under the Universal Health Care,” said Ejercito.
The specialty center at WVMC is targeted to be completed in 2022. It will house thoraco-cardiovascular operating rooms, surgical intensive care units, coronary care units, non-invasive cardiology section, vascular section, pulmonary section, wards and private rooms.
He promised that he will prioritize the establishment of service delivery network under the UCHL such as the improvement and establishment of the clinics for the primary care, improvement of the district and provincial hospitals and the apex or end-referral hospital like the WVMC.
“I am hoping that we can really finish this in 5 to 10 years. Yun naman yung program natin, talagang genuine universal healthcare for all Filipinos. Being the principal sponsor, alam mo yung history, alam mo yung purpose on how to go about it.
So ‘yun yung reason na sana makabalik ako para we can really realize na meron na tayong genuine healthcare. Ang mga Pilipino hindi na mahirapan, hindi na kailangan magsangla ng lupa or cellphone kung magkasakit. This is the genuine health care that we want really to happen,” the senator stressed.
Ejercito went to Dumangas on Tuesday and met with Mayor Ronaldo Golez, where he checked on the school building projects he allotted funds for. After meeting with Treñas on Wednesday, he also met with Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., where they discussed the needs of the Ilonggos to recover from the pandemic. He, too, met with the Garins in Guimbal town and condoled with them on the passing of former Cong. Oscar Garin Sr./PN