PCSO allots P18 million financial aid for Bicol government hospitals

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines- The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) allotted over P18 million worth of financial assistance to 6 government-operated hospitals in Bicol to help them respond to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a PCSO official said on Saturday, April 4.

The following are the hospitals with their corresponding PCSO assistance, according to Nelly Loyola, PCSO-Albay manager:

•  Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH), Legazpi City- P10 million
• Eastern Bicol Medical Center, Catanduanes – P2.5 million
• Bicol Medical Center (BMC), Naga City – P2.5 million
• Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital, Daet- P1 million
• Dr. Fernando Duran Memorial Hospital, Sorsogon City- P1 million
• Masbate Provincial Hospital- P1 million

Loyola said that the assistance will be used for the procurement of testing kits, reagents, medical and diagnostic equipment, personal protective equipment, and medicines for COVID-19 cases in Bicol. (READ: Coronavirus cases rise outside Metro Manila as tests slowly keep up)

“This will also cover the cost of laboratory, diagnostic procedures, and confinement of COVID-19 patients,” Loyola said.

Earlier, Albay 2^nd District Representative Joey Sarte Salceda asked Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) Vice President Orlando Iñigo in Bicol to allocate funds for BRTTH, BMC, Josefina Belmonte Duran Memorial Hospital, and Bicol Region General Hospital, and Geriatric Medical Center.

(READ: PhilHealth to cover expenses of coronavirus patients until April 14)

Salceda asked Iñigo for the following budget allocations:

• BRTTH- P102 million
• BMC- P120 million 
• Josefina Belmonte Duran Memorial Hospital- P22 million
• Bicol Region General Hospital and Geriatric Medical Center- P10 million

This amounts to P254 million.

Salceda’s request came a few days after PhilHealth in Bicol released the P351,929,930.59 to assist 11 hospitals across the region to respond to COVID-19 cases here.

The release was mostly for major hospitals, level 1 to level 3, specifically the ones identified by the Department of Health (DOH) as COVID 19 treatment facilities such as Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital in Legazpi, Bicol Medical Center in Naga City, Bicol Region General Hospital and Geriatic Medical Center (formerly Bicol Sanitarium). 

As of Saturday, April 4, the DOH recorded more than 3,000 coronavirus cases in the Philippines, with 144 deaths, and 57 recoveries. – Rappler.com