SANS ANY MORE POLITICAL ROADBLOCK

THE Maternity and Children’s Hospital, which had P150 million allocated by the national government but reverted to the national treasury in 2024 due to delays caused by the previous majority in the Sangguniang Panlungsod, is set to finally move forward in 2026, as announced by Mayor Belen Fernandez.

During the Dagupan SP’s second session of the year, presided over by Vice Mayor Bryan Kua, Mayor Fernandez revealed that the 2026 General Appropriations Act, recently signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has allocated an even larger budget of P200 million for the hospital’s construction.

Fernandez reassured the public about the project’s certainty, noting that the program of work for the facility is already in place. However, it still requires coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which will supervise the project, as well as the Department of Health (DOH).

To expedite the release of the allocated funds, Fernandez intends to promptly sign a memorandum of agreement with DOH Region 1 Regional Director Paula Paz Sydiongco, a necessary formality that was done but belatedly in 2024 due to delays in site selection by the previous Sanggunian majority.

With the previous seven majority councilors mostly gone, save for one, there will no longer be opposition to the original plan to establish the Maternity and Children’s Hospital on a 10,000-square-meter lot that the Fernandez family donated to the DOH along the Jose de Venecia Expressway in Barangay Pantal.

In contrast, the previous majority councilors had opted for a site vacated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), part of the City Social Welfare and Development premises, along with an adjacent open area in Barangay Poblacion Oeste.

Unfortunately, by the time they passed a resolution designating that location, they had missed the legal deadline to secure the P150-million fund from the national government, thus automatically reverting the appropriation to the national treasury.

Fernandez thanked President Marcos, DOH, and Congresswoman Gina de Venecia for considering the pressing need for a Mother and Child Hospital in Dagupan City.

“This is good news for mothers and their babies from less privileged families in the city. We will soon have a hospital, entirely funded by our resources, to meet their needs,” affirmed Fernandez.

She acknowledged that she had only recently become aware of the P200 million allocated in the GAA for the Maternity and Child Hospital and urged the SP to appropriate funds to cover the hospital’s operations and maintenance, which were not included in the city’s 2026 annual budget.

Additionally, Fernandez stated that P15 million has been allocated in the GAA for the construction of a Super Family Health Center in Barangay Malued, the second of its kind in Dagupan since a similar facility was established in 2025 in Barangay Bolosan, which will also require separate appropriations for its operations and maintenance. (Leonardo Micua)