THE management of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center is pushing for the relocation of informal settlers in order to realize its planned expansion of increasing the hospital's bed capacity to 800.
BGHMC medical chief Doctor Ricardo Runez Jr. said within the 25 hectare area of the hospital, only five hectares are currently occupied; seven hectares are being encroached by informal settlers and the rest covers a watershed area.
Runez said, at least 306 families were identified as informal settlers within the BGHMC compound.
On Saturday, an inspection was conducted with National Housing Authority general manager Marcelino Escalada and Senator JV Ejercito, Senate Committee chair on health.
House Bill 6619, authored by Baguio Representative Marquez Go was recently signed into law increasing the bed capacity of BGHMC from 500 to 800 beds.
"Hindi natin marerealize yung 800 bed capacity expansion, putting of the different facilities, if we do not free up the space," said Ejercito.
In a bid to address the issue, a three-story tenement building is being proposed that will have at least 144 units and would house at least 110 families, Runez proposed.
This will need approval of the housing department, and Runez said he is negotiating with the NHA on this.
"We have an agreement with informal settlers that if the land is needed for the expansion of the hospital, they will leave. But there is also a law that says no demolition without relocation, that is why we are working on the relocation of the informal settlers," Runez said.
Majority of the informal settlers are previous employees of the hospital.
Runez reveals the spaces being occupied by informal settlers is being eyed for the construction of a renal center building to address the increasing demand of patients seeking dialysis.
Representative Jose Christian Bugayong, requested an ocular inspection with the BGH administration, the city and constituents of the barangay to understand the proposal.
For his part, Escalada said the NHA will not proceed without clearance and development permits which the hospital will have to work on.
"We really want to put up a low-rise building so we will be able to free up some spaces for the use of the hospital that has to be well coordinated with the government of Baguio as well as the barangay," adds Escalada.
Aside from Baguio City, BGHMC also caters to patients from the different provinces of Benguet, Pangasinan, Ilocos, La Union and other areas in the Cordillera region.
