Construction of the multi-billion modern Gov. Celestino Gallares Medical Center will push through, and it will commence this year.
This development surfaced after the release of P1.5 billion which is part of the P2.3 billion budget for the said government hospital to be constructed in Cortes town.
Rep. Edgar Chatto said the fund is part of the crucial funds for a number of major and essential Bohol projects which have been secured with the signing by President Duterte of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2020 at Malacanang last Monday.
The remaining fund requirement will be secured next year through the national government’s multi-year contractual authority.
He cited the support of Socio Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia in pursuing the construction of the huge medical facility in Cortes town.
The hospital once completed can be the most modern government hospital in the entire Visayas.
The implementing agency of this multi-billion project will be the Department of Heath under Sec. Francisco Duque, according to Rep. Chatto who strongly lobbied for the hospital to be in Cortes town instead of insisted the 500-bed capacity at the existing Gallares Hospital which is in the heart of downtown Tagbilaran City. The DOH Sec. Janet Garin supported the construction of the multi-level building of the existing city based hospital manned by Dr. MutyaMacuno as hospital chief. A budget of P555 million was used in the upgrading of the existing hospital which now has modern facilities including its Intensive Care Units (ICU) and the emergency rooms as well and the laboratory facilities.
Rep Chatto considered the public sentiment against increasing the hospital beds at the existing city location as it will worsen the traffic congestion in the area. He stressed that the medical complex in Cortes is also one way ofexpanding the growth of the first congressional district.
Upon completion, the present Gallares Hospital in the city will be for the out patients and laboratories.
Meanwhile, Chatto also secured P200 million in the GAA to begin the Tagbilaran City-side work for the offshore bridge connector or third Tagbilaran City-Panglao island bridge via Dauis.
The specific project phase involves a rotunda at the intersection fronting the city port.
The monumental offshore bridge connector will start from the said point to its other side in Songculan, Dauis for nearest route from the city port to Bohol Panglao international Airport, vice versa.
The GAA of 2020 assures the allocation for the rise of the new hall of justice in the city.
Chatto said the judicial infrastructure program to expedite the disposition of cases includes the construction of another justice hall in Talibon in the northeast of the province.
Chatto attended the signing by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte of the 2020 national budget law at the Palace on January 6, 2020.
Further, the GAA enactment has assured funds for Bohol projects and programs on roads, bridges, ports, water supply, flood control, social services and school buildings.
There are separate allocations for the acquisition of land and physical infrastructure, among others, for the Bohol Island State University (BISU), the First District solon said.
Chatto principally authored the law creating the only state university in the province when he first served in Congress.
This precisely explains why he has been hailed by the school and even by the Commission on Higher Education as the “Father of the BISU Law.”