LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. led the unveiling of the bust monument of the late Mariano C. Versoza, Sr., former mayor of Lingayen town in simple rites recently at the Lingayen District Hospital (Don Mariano C. Versoza District Hospital).
The governor commended the late Versoza’s great efforts on health concerns which, he said, also tops his priority thrusts for full development of Pangasinan.
Gov. Espino disclosed that numerous achievements were gained by the present administration in terms of health citing the transformation that transpired in the last eight years of his term.
He cited, for one, the recent confirmation of the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital located in San Carlos City as ISO-certified hospital facility.
The governor said much has been done to serve the poorest and the sick Pangasinense thru the newly-launched Point-Of-Care program of his administration that caters for a ‘no balance payments’ for indigent Pangasinense.
The governor also mentioned the long-term vision set by the provincial government to transform the PPH into a medical center that will give way to the conversion of the LDH into a provincial hospital in the future.
Now, the construction of a two-storey building at the LDH compound to house its administrative office and outpatients department will soon be started.
Under the Espino administration, the hospital is now transformed as Level 1 facility with Level II clinical laboratory and is now fully-equipped with modernized hospital services and equipment to cater to the needs of poor and sick Pangasinense.
At present, the LDH which operates on a 90-bed actual capacity, can accommodate at sleast 60 in-patients and 100 outpatients daily.
Two separate edifices were also constructed within the compound to serve as extension building of the PDRRMC and an evacuation center that can be utilized in case of calamities.
Meanwhile, Titus Versoza, the eldest of the Versoza children who is now based in the United States, thanked the provincial government for giving health an utmost importance. He stressed that he sees the heart of his father from the good deeds of the governor.
Versoza paid tribute to his late father on behalf of the clan in a heartbreaking message that called for the spirit of volunteerism among Pangasinenses.
Don Mariano C. Versoza was a nurse, a lawyer and a public servant who served as Lingayen vice mayor in 1963 to 1967 and as town mayor in 1968 to 1979 with public health as his priority program.
Gracing the occasion were former Lingayen mayor Atty. Nolan Evangelista and former municipal councilor Joe Ferrer, who represented 2nd district Representative Leopoldo N. Bataoil.
Aside from the eldest Versoza, the clan was represented by its matriarch Luisa Macasieb-Versoza and Ret. Col. Mariano ‘Sonny’ M. Versoza. (Ruby R. Bernardino).
By Dexter A. See