DIGOS CITY – Davao Occidental officials welcomed the approval on the third reading of Senate Bill 1616, which calls for the establishment of the first tertiary hospital in the province and providing for a P900 million regular budget for its operation each year. Both insisted that regular funding for the hospital’s operational expenses should already be reflected in the 2022 national budget, Bandigan said. The project, which is expected to be operational in the first or second quarter of 2022, is a 100-room facility. Davao Occidental which is composed of the towns of Sta. Maria, Malita, Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos, and Sarangani has been a relatively new province carved out of Davao del Sur following a referendum five years ago.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 06, 2021 11:26 UTC