The city is now exerting extra effort to construct two health centers in strategic areas to further improve the delivery of health care services to the people in the barangays and to help in enhancing the city government’s anti-Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) response efforts.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña stated that the proposed health center in Bakakeng Norte/Sur that will be erected within a property donated to the city by a subdivision should commence construction before June so that the P20 million fund earmarked for the project by the public works department will not revert to the general fund as the same was sourced out from the Bayanihan 2 Law.
On the other hand, he claimed that the proposed health center in Aurora Hill which will be constructed within a portion of the Bayan Park will also have to commence because part of the funds for the project amounting to P10 million from the health department was sourced from the agency under the same law.
For the Bakakeng health center, the city administrator disclosed that the plans are already with the city’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) ready to be bid out as soon as the situation of the donated property shall have been ascertained by the city’s technical personnel.
In the case of the Aura Hill health center, the structure will be constructed in an a 300-meter area near the senior citizens center to avoid possible conflicts in the future that might delay the construction of the much-awaited facility in the Aurora Hill district.
According to him, the 2 health centers will be provided with adequate parking areas for their respective clients to prevent the wayward parking of vehicles that could cause traffic congestions within the surrounding areas.
Dela Peña asserted the need to immediately implement the programmed put up of the district health centers so that the provided funds will not revert to the general fund for the people of the Aurora Hill and Bakakeng districts to benefit from the enhanced delivery of health care services from the improved facilities.
While the various departments will be working on how to immediately prosecute the aforesaid projects, the City Council will be working to amend the ordinance that prohibits the put up of structures within the Bayan Park area to accommodate the proposed put up of the Aurora Hill district health center.
Earlier, health officials of the Aurora Hill district health center requested the city government for a much wider space to be able to accommodate the increasing number of daily clients and this allowed the city to consider the put up of the same within the 300-meter portion of the Bayan Park area.
The Bakakeng district health center will replace the Atab district health center which is about to be demolished as it is located within the road-right-of-way of the Balacbac and Mount Sto. Tomas roads to pave the way for the implementation of future road widening projects in the said areas. By Dexter A. See
