Sweepstakes grants P4-M for Batanes Hospital
From Bandillo Batanes Newspaper

		The Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) approved the release of four million pesos for the procurement of equipment and supplies for the Batanes General Hospital (BGH). The grant was approved upon the request of Rep. Florencio B. Abad, who looked for alternative
Batanes General Hospital

sources of funding to fast-track the upgrading of the facilities of the BGH.

A check amounting to 1 million pesos has been released to BGH chief Dr. Felipe Cablay. Cablay said the initial release will be used to improve the services of the Hospital's emergency room and dental services. So far, an anaesthesia machine and a dental x-ray have been purchased. The rest of the grant will be released upon the liquidation of the first release.

Since Republic Act (R.A.) 8454 was approved in January 1998, the budget of the Department of Health (DOH) had already been prepared and submitted to the Department of Budget and Management. The BGH was not included in the health department's budget this year. Its budget, amounting to 81 million pesos per year, will only be included in the DOH budget next year.

Republic Act 8454 is a law re-nationalizing the Batanes Provincial Hospital, which places it again under the direct administration and Management of DOH. It also upgrades the BPH to a general hospital where the services are departmentalised. When the Local Government Code was implemented, the Batanes hospital was devolved to the Provincial Government of Batanes.