THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has formed a committee that will focus on speeding up the completion of the hospital for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW).
In a statement on Sunday, the DoLE said Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III ordered the creation of the committee to “rev up” the P550-million project, which had a groundbreaking ceremony on May 1, 2019.
The committee will be co-chaired by Labor Undersecretaries Renato L. Ebarle and Ana C. Dione.
“The Ebarle-Dione panel is composed of two Technical Working Groups: one for Human Resources to undertake the hiring of medical personnel who will manage and operate the hospital, and another one for Bidding and Procurement of Hospital Equipment,” DoLE said.
Construction of the OFW Hospital was slowed down in 2020 by restrictions prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The 100-bed medical facility located in San Fernando City, Pampanga will cater to OFWs and their dependents.
Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, Inc. is providing P400 million for the project while P150 million will come from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). — Gillian M. Cortez