President Rodrigo R. Duterte will lead on Sunday the inspection and inauguration of the newly constructed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Hospital that will cater to OFWs and their legal dependents.
Partial operations will begin Monday and full operations by the end of June, according to a news release on Saturday.
Built on a 1.5-hectare property in the City of San Fernando, donated by the Pampanga provincial government, the hospital was established through the joint efforts of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as manager, Bloomberry Cultural Foundation for the cost of construction, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. for funding the procurement of medical equipment, and the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) for the initial operations.
DOLE and PGH signed an agreement in January for the latter to help train clinical and administrative personnel; plan the acquisition of hospital equipment; and formulate the clinical and fiscal process flow.
The one-stop Malasakit Center and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration desk are also available in the hospital to provide easier access to assistance, including billing and medicines.
Construction started last year while Executive Order 154, signed on Dec. 7, 2021, hastened the completion of the hospital.
The EO likewise created the Inter-Agency Committee on the OFW Hospital (ICOH) chaired by the DOLE Secretary and co-chaired by the Health Secretary.
The ICOH is in charge of determining and undertaking, in coordination with the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations, the appropriate steps for the formal establishment and/or incorporation of the OFW Hospital in accordance with Republic Act 10149 or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011; and assuming, performing, and carrying out functions and responsibilities of its Board of Trustees.