MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the establishment of the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) Annex in Pampanga to bring essential health services closer to people outside the capital region.
Marcos on Tuesday signed Executive Order 19, which directed the establishment of the specialty hospital in the Clark Freeport Zone.
The EO noted that many Filipinos suffering from cardiovascular diseases travel to Quezon City where the PHC is located.
“With world-class highways and an international airport, the Clark Freeport Zone is a gateway to Central Luzon. As such, establishing a specialty hospital annex in Clark Freeport Zone will bring quality healthcare closer to the people,” the order read.
According to the Philippine Statistic Authority, ischemic heart diseases remained the leading cause of mortality among Filipinos in 2022.
The EO tasked the PHC to establish, manage, and administer the hospital annex and amend its existing hospital development plan to include the proposed programs for the PHC Clark.
It added the funding needed for the establishment and operations of the PHC Clark “shall be charged against the available appropriations of the Department of Health and/or the annual corporate operating budget of the PHC, subject to the pertinent budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations.”
Additional funding may be sourced from agreements that the PHC may enter into other government agencies.
In his first State of the Nation Address, Marcos vowed to build specialty hospitals outside Metro Manila, and more clinics and rural health units.