Provincial Administrator Raul Banias has been designated by Gov. Arthur Defensor, Sr. as officer-in-charge of the newly-created Hospital Management Office (HMO) of the Province of Iloilo.
HMO is tasked to supervise and provide technical support to the operations of the Iloilo Provincial Hospital and 11 district hospitals that were converted as economic enterprises by virtue of Provincial Ordinance No. 2011-091, “An Ordinance Converting and Establishing the Iloilo Provincial Hospital and All Other District Hospitals of the Province of Iloilo as Economic Enterprises and Creating the Hospital Management Office in the Provincial Government of Iloilo.”
HMO consists of two divisions such as the Technical Support Services Division and the Hospital Operations Division.
To note, Governor Defensor pushed for the conversion of hospitals as economic enterprises to make sure that the provincial government will not exceed its Personal Services (PS) cap limitation.
Exceeding the 45% PS cap ceiling set by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) would affect the benefits due the more than 2,000 provincial government employees.
Converting the province-run hospitals as economic enterprises would remove the budget of hospitals from the General Fund and turn into subsidy, thus, reducing the PS of the provincial government.
Defensor, however, allayed fears that the move would result to increased hospital charges and fees.
Defensor said it was embedded in the ordinance that the hospitals’ charges and fees would still be the same and that it will never be increased.
The governor also stressed that the indigents in Iloilo province could still avail of hospital services for free.
Only those who can afford would be made to pay, Defensor said. (ECGarcia/ Capitol News)
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