Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he is against the corporatization of government-owned hospitals because this will deprive the poor access to free hospital services.

Leonardia said he, together with Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, are exploring the motive behind the move to privatize government-owned hospitals.

House Bill 6069, or an Act Creating the National Government Hospital Corporations, was authored by Bacolod Rep. Anthony Golez Jr. and Rep. Alfredo Marañon III (Neg. Occ. 3rd District), who chairs the Committee on Health in the House.

Leonardia said that if government-owned hospitals will be privatized, they will lose their sense of social responsibility”. How do you reconcile having a private organization becoming a charitable institution?” he asked.

The field of medicine is one that is very big business, so Casiño is trying to dig up what is the business or financial interest of people or institutions who have thought of privatizing government-owned hospitals, Leonardia said.

That is why they are suspicious that there is a business aspect here, he said.

“I am against it for the same reason that we want them socialized to be able to serve the people,” he added.

Leonardia said he (Golez) is thinking only of business and not the welfare of the people. Since he is not from Bacolod, he does not understand the culture here, he added.

Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson said that, in other nations, health services are being subsidized by the government. If they are being subsidized in first world countries, why should we privatize them? It is the poor who will be deprived of health services from the government, he said.

Members of the Gabriela-Negros staged a rally in front of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City Friday to oppose the corporatization of the 26 government hospitals in the country, including CLMMRH.

They also appealed to Golez and Marañon to stop the deliberations on the bill.

Golez meanwhile, has issued a press statement that he is willing to discuss and is open to the suggestion on how to improve the bill.

He said he looks forward to a consultation meeting with Gabriela and other sectors on the matter.*CGS

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