Philippine Children’s Medical Center to stay at present location, says NHA

(Updated 3:21 p.m.) The Philippine Children's Medical Center will no longer be evicted from its present 3.7-hectare location in Quezon City, after the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Department of Health (DOH) reached an agreement.

During Wednesday's hearing of the Senate health and demography committee, NHA general manager Chito Cruz said they had agreed to transfer the title to the DOH next year. The announcement elicited a loud applause from the audience composed mostly of medical personnel of PCMC.

“We met yesterday with Department of Health (acting) Secretary Janette Garin and we agreed to continue with the swapping of property. We will transfer to the DOH next year the entire property,” he said.

The DOH, however, needs to pay NHA P900 million for the property. The amount is the 2003 valuation of the land.

Land swapping

Former President Corazon Aquino issued an order swapping the land owned by NHA in Quezon City, where PCMC is located, with the land owned by  DOH in Sambag, Cebu. NHA has already used the land.

Senator Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the committee, said some P500 million was allocated in the 2015 budget for the purchase of the property.

Cruz asked the Senate to provide the DOH with ample fund in 2016 to pay the balance of P400 million. Guingona promised to do so.

Cruz also said the NHA will shoulder the payment for capital gains tax, transfer tax, document tax, and registration fee.

Timely Christmas gift

Garin, who was also present at the hearing, thanked the NHA for bearing with the DOH and PCMC. "Thanks for a timely Christmas gift," she said.

PCMC treated 65,467 patients in 2013, mostly from the marginalized sector.

NHA earlier ordered PCMC to buy the property it has been occupying for more than 30 years for P1.1 billion. In 2013, NHA sold the property to Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) despite the objection from PCMC.

But in a legal opinion, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said the sale was void  ab initio (from the start) since NHA was no longer the owner of the land.

In an interview after the hearing, Guingona said the agreement between the NHA and DOH was good news.

“Mababayaran naman yan  dahil merong allocation ang Kongreso sa budget para bayaran yung lote, so I think with that sarado na itong issue. Yung lote ng PCMC mata-transfer na sa pangalan ng Department of Health. P900 million ang kailangan, for 2015 ang na-allocate ay P500 million, so there will only be P400 million for the next budget cycle. I think everything is OK naman, the parties have agreed so there are no issues anymore,” he said. —KBK, GMA News