SB wants trauma center established in Central Luzon

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and other leaders of the House of Representatives are pushing for the establishment of a medical trauma center in Central Luzon to address emergency cases, particularly vehicular accidents.

Belmonte filed House Bill 6035 seeking to put up the Central Luzon Trauma Center in Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija.

The measure  was co-authored by Reps. Estrellita Suansing of Nueva Ecija and Jose Christopher “Kit” Belmonte of  Quezon City.

Belmonte said the proximity of Zaragoza to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway makes the municipality an ideal place to establish the Central Luzon Trauma Center.

He said the soon-to-be constructed Central Luzon Link Expressway would have an interchange within Zaragoza itself.

“With all of these expressways, vehicular accidents are bound to happen and the need for a trauma hospital to attend to the emergency cases is urgent,” he said.

Suansing, whose district covers Zaragoza, said there is no hospital, private or government-funded, in the municipality.

Although there are a handful of clinics available, the services offered are limited and emergency care is non-existent, she said.