The Diosdado P. Macapagal Memorial Provincial Hospital (DPMMPH) Annex will soon rise here to provide basic and affordable medical services mainly to employees of this Freeport.

Governor Dennis Pineda on Tuesday signed a deed of usufruct with the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) for the use of land as site of the DPMMPH Annex here.

Noel Manankil, CDC president and chief executive officer, signed on behalf of the state-owned agency in a brief program held at the Royce Hotel here.

The CDC board, led by chairman Jose de Jesus, approved the use of a 5,000-square meter property inside the Freeport for 25 years. The deed can be extended for 25 more years.

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and chief executive officer and Covid-19 testing czar Vivencio Dizon said the Pampanga project has been allocated PHP100 million under the Bayanihan to Heal as One 2.

The governor said the provincial government has set aside an initial PHP100 million, while Mabalacat City Mayor Cris Garbo pledged PHP30 million per year for five years.

He said his mother, Vice Governor Lilia Pineda, began the hospital annex project in 2019 by requesting the CDC to allocate a piece of land.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved the project.

The vice governor said the DPMMPH is the first government hospital in Clark.

Gov. Pineda said the DPMMPH in Clark is “really for workers” who numbered 140,000 before the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic was declared last March.

“Para po ito sa ating mga manggagawa (This is for our workers). We must have a healthy workforce to make our families happy, our communities at peace and our economy productive. I thank the CDC for helping the Pampanga provincial government in this new track in our health care system,” he added. (PNA)