In a crucial public hearing held by the Senate Committee on Health and Demography las Monday, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, as chairperson, presided over discussions on various health programs including the efficient implementation of the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan and the execution of Republic Act (RA) 11959 or the Regional Specialty Centers Act which he principally sponsored and is one of the authors.

“A budget of around P10 billion was included this year for establishing various specialty centers in DoH (Department of Health) hospitals. We want to know the status of its implementation… We also want to ensure that public health facilities we are constructing would be operational,” Go urged.

Discussions also included the proposed establishment of a National Center for Geriatric Health, aligned with RA 11959.

“We must ensure the right to health of our senior citizens by ensuring that health services are available and accessible to them through establishing a specialized hospital and research institute,” he championed.

Additionally, the Committee tackled the bill to increase the bed capacity of the Philippine General Hospital, one of the country’s largest modern government tertiary hospitals, serving over 600,000 patients annually. As a national referral center for tertiary care, PGH provides essential services to indigent Filipinos.