By LEONARDO V. MICUA
Speedy action by Dagupan SP
What the previous Sangguniang Panlungsod of Dagupan took less than three years to study and pass, the current council approved in a matter of just five to eight minutes.
This was a simple resolution that authorized Mayor Belen Fernandez to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Health-Center for Health Development for the establishment and implementation of a Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Dagupan City, with funding support from the Department of Health.
Sponsored by Councilor Jalice Cayabyab, chair of the SP committee on health and the sole medical doctor in the council, the resolution was added to the agenda at the last minute during the regular session on March 9, following a motion by floor leader Mike Fernandez along with three other resolutions.
In contrast, during the previous council’s tenure from 2022 to 2025, then-health committee chair Marilou Fernandez, a dentist, managed to pass a similar measure only by November 2024, far too late, as the resolution had been pending since 2023.
However, the resolution passed by the former SP ultimately proved meaningless because when finalized and submitted to the Department of Health, the P150 million funding was already unavailable, as it had reverted to the national treasury.
Thanks to the efforts of Fourth District Rep. Gina de Venecia and Abono party-list Rep. Eskimo Estrella, along with Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III, the funding for the Maternity and Children’s Hospital was restored in the 2026 General Appropriations Act and increased to P200 million from P150 million.
This necessitated the passage of a new resolution, this time sponsored by Councilor Jalice, authorizing Mayor Belen to sign the MOA with the DOH for the project’s implementation.
This resolution, a product of consensus within the council’s supermajority, was added to the agenda of the Sangguniang for that day at the request of the city executive.
In the previous SP, under the so-called notorious “majority seven,” they had yet to invite DOH regional officials to discuss matters concerning the MCH, not relying solely on the words of city officials like the City Legal Officer, City Health Officer, and City Engineer during their weekly hearings.
After several weeks of committee hearings, it was a surprise that former health committee chair Councilor Marilou Fernandez stated that the resolution was laid on the table, but not shelved, allowing for future discussion at any time.
Curiously, Councilor Dada Reyna, the majority floor leader in the past council, voted in favor of the resolution despite previously collaborating with her former colleagues to delay its passage, hoping to stall the project under Mayor Fernandez.
But not after saying hallelujahs to her political allies: Late Mayors Benjamin Lim and his son, Brian Lim, whom she credited for first envisioning the Dagupan MCH during their respective reigns.
As the sole opposition member in the 12-member Sanggunian, was left with only few choices, and she found herself aligning with the majority on all proposed measures. When she stood up to express her support to the resolution, we thought she would again move for a committee hearing on the measure, as she used to do when her group was yet the majority bloc in the SP. She did not.
It’s worth recalling that the former majority hastily passed the resolution granting Mayor Fernandez the authority to sign a MOA just a day or two after Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire visited Dagupan, encouraging local officials to pursue the project.
Ultimately, the resolution was passed, stipulating that the hospital be built on city government property, specifically on a lot vacated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) when it moved to Bonuan Binloc, including an adjacent area to the left, and a space that also housed a warehouse of the City Social Welfare and Development Office, all shaped like an inverted letter L.
City Health Officer Julita de Venecia emphasized that, to ensure the P200 million allocated by the DOH does not revert to the national coffers again, the vacated lot in Barangay Poblacion Oeste must be chosen as the site for the MCH.
This decision was made for expediency because if the city opts for the originally intended site—a donated lot in Barangay Pantal—it would involve extensive paperwork and technical work, likely prolonging the process and risking the funding being recalled again if it remained unused.#