Provincial officials said placing the Benguet General Hospital (BeGH) under the operation and management of the Department of Health (DOH) will be more beneficial to the patients, who are mostly from the province, considering the limited resources of the provincial government that currently operates it.

“Kapag mas maraming resources at pondo ang hospital, mas makaka-benefit ang mga pasyente kasi iku-cover na sila ng DOH (The patients will benefit more if there are more funds and supplies from the DOH),” Gov. Melchor Diclas said in an interview Monday.

Diclas, a medical doctor by profession, said not all patients are financially capable of paying for their medical needs, especially in the province where most patients are farmers.

He added that DOH-run hospitals have zero-balance billing and can afford to cover for all the expenses of a patient with the backing of the national government and the country’s funds.

In a statement, Benguet Lone District Rep. Eric Yap said the House Committee on Health approved last week House Bill 1508, seeking to place BeGH under the supervision of the DOH in order to secure stronger government support for the province’s main public hospital.

He said the measure would allow the hospital to access larger national funding for facility upgrades, modern medical equipment and additional healthcare personnel.

“The measure is intended to improve the delivery of healthcare services not only for Benguet residents but also for patients coming from nearby Cordillera provinces who rely on the hospital for treatment,” Yap said.

BeGH was transferred to the local government’s supervision following the implementation of the Local Government Code of 1991, which devolved several national services, including hospitals, to provincial and municipal governments. (PNA)