BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance prescribing fees for the use of city-owned ambulances and other similar emergency vehicles for the transport of patients and medical standbys.
The ordinance authored by Vice Mayor Faustino A. Olowan states it will be a declared policy of the city government to collect fees for the use of city-owned ambulances and other similar emergency vehicles to transport patients to hospitals or health facilities or for use as medical standbys.
The ordinance adds that fees shall only be collected from requests of parties to transport patients to or from residences or hospitals to other hospitals or medical facilities or for medical standbys.
However, no fees shall be collected in situations where the ambulance responded to accidents, emergencies, or natural disaster occurrences where there is a need to transport victims to hospitals or medical facilities.
The ordnance stipulates that the City Health Services Office, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) shall issue a payment or charge slip to the requesting party indicating therein the amount to be paid to the City Treasury Office for the use of the city’s ambulance or other similar emergency vehicles for medical transport or medical standbys.
Further, the CHSO, CDRRMC and BFP shall record all official receipts issued by the City Treasury Office before the conduct of medical transport services and medical standbys.
Under the proposed ordinance, the City Treasury Office shall collect the prescribed medical transport fees of P500 for one-way trip within Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) area and P30 per kilometer for every trip and payment of actual cost of fuel outside the BLISTT.
For medical standby, the City Treasury Office is authorized to collect P150 per hour per individual personnel assigned by the CHSO, CDRRMO or BFP to attend to the patient; P750 per personnel for medical standby not exceeding 4 hours and additional P150 per hour per personnel beyond 4 hours and P1,500 per personnel for medical standby for 8 hours.
The ordinance discloses the collection of fees for medical standbys shall only be applicable for private events and activities and not for city sponsored activities.
The ordinance tasks the CHSO, through the Baguio City Emergency Medical Service, shall prepare the implementing rules and regulations of the proposed city legislative measure.
The city government, through the CHSO, CDRRMO and BFP, purchased ambulances to transport patients not only within the city but also to and from different hospitals or health facilities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The ordinance notes that in order for the city government to sustain the maintenance and defray cost from incidental expenses as well as the equipment and consumables of the said ambulances and of other similar emergency vehicles of the city, there is a need for the city government to collect reasonable fees from requesting parties.
The ordinance stipulates that the collected fees shall be used to defray cost for repair and maintenance of the ambulances and for possible purchases of similar emergency vehicles in the future.
By Dexter A. See