A senator on Sunday lauded the plan of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to establish specialty hospitals in every region in the country, noting that while the plan may not be completed in his six year-term, having a blueprint is a good start.

Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, made this remark after Marcos vowed to push for the creation of more specialty hospitals in other parts of the country in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25.

“Medyo isang malaking hamon yan, napaka-ambisyoso nitong programa pero napakaganda kung magawa natin (It is a big challenge, a very ambitious program but it will do a lot of good if we can achieve it),” Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said in an interview over DZBB.

Angara raised the possibility that the plan may not be completed within Marcos’ six-year term. However, he said knowing the timeline of these projects would be a realistic first step.

“Alam naman po natin maaring hindi matatapos ‘yan dito sa termino ni President Marcos pero ang importante, number one, magawa yung blueprint o yung plano kasi kapag may blueprint, may plano alam kung saan maguumpisa at saan matatapos (We know that there is a chance that it won’t be completed within the term of Marcos but what’s important is that we have a blueprint or a plan because if there’s a blueprint we know where to start and to end),” he added.

He said Marcos wanted to have a plan so that the government’s direction is “clear.”

Angara noted that five to seven specialty hospitals in each of the country’s regions would mean establishing over a hundred hospitals.

“Wala pang administrasyon ang nakakagawa ng isang daan na ospital sa loob ng isang administrasyon, so, konting reality check lang (No administration has built over 100 hospitals within one administration, so, this is a reality check),” he said.

Earlier, Angara said the government could tap into the Health Facilities Enhancement Fund of the Department of Health to establish specialty hospitals as well as upgrade other health facilities and provide them with appropriate medical equipment.

He said the government could also acquire funds from the Department of Public Works and Highways or through a public-private partnership.

In his first SONA, Marcos vowed to enhance the delivery of health care to Filipinos living in far-flung rural areas by building additional hospitals and health centers where existing medical facilities are too far from the people.

“Napakinabangan natin nang husto ang malalaking specialty hospitals gaya ng Heart Center, Lung Center, Children’s Hospital at National Kidney and Transplant Institute. Kaya maliwanag na hindi lamang dapat dito lamang sa National Capital Region kundi maging sa ibang parte ng bansa kailangan magdagdag ng ganitong uri ng mga pagamutan (We have benefited a lot from big specialty hospitals like the Heart Center, Lung Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and National Kidney and Transplant Institute. It is clear that such types of hospitals must be built in other parts of the country, not only in the National Capital Region),” he said. (PNA)