The House Bill 1621 or an Act Creating a Body Corporate to be known as Western Philippines Medical Center and For Other Purposes has been approved by the House of Representatives on March 17, 2021. It was introduced by Franz Josef Alvarez, Cyrille Abueg-Zaldivar, and Atty. Gil 'Kabarangay Jr.' Acosta as representatives of the province in three different districts.

Gil 'KabarangayJr.' Acosta a representative on the third district, excitedly shared the approval through his post on his social media account on March 23, Tuesday.

He stated “HOUSE BILL BILANG 1621, APRUBADO NA SA COMMITTEE ON HEALTH!”

“Di maikakaila ang matinding pangangailangan ng lalawigan na maisakatuparan ang pagtatayo ng Ospital na partikular sa kidney at heart diseases, dahil sa mataas na kaso ng cardiovascular diseases at kidney malfunction sa lalawigan.
Ang panukalang batas ay naglalayong makapagpatayo ng Medical Center sa lalawigan at tatawaging Western Philippines Medical Center. Layunin nitong matugunan ang lumalaking pangangailangan ng serbisyong medikal, kaugnay ng lumalagong populasyon at turismo ng Probinsya at sa lungsod ng Puerto Princesa.” He added.

The bill was first filed on Seventh Congress and was referred to the Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization on December 12, 2016. It was secondarily referred to the Committee of Health on February 17, 2017.

Health is wealth and it is important to have medical facilities that will cater to different cases of diseases within the province. Through the years, diseases from kidney failures and heart-related have been rising.

Kidney malfunction is one of the top 10 listed diseases in the Philippines. According to the Department of Health (DOH), there is a total of 17,000 deaths every year and 10% to 15% came from MIMAROPA Region. Also, out of 170,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease in 2009, 268 came from Palawan.

The MIMAROPA Region includes the provinces of Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan. Among the provinces, Palawan has an average annual population growth rate (PGR) of 1.84% while Puerto Princesa alone has a PGR of 2.62% from 2010 to 2015.

Tourists and travelers need an assurance to seek medical attention whenever they needed it. The local residents, most especially indigent persons who always doubt going to hospitals for consultations or surgeries due to insufficient money in their pockets and concern about hospital bills.

To finally cut out these problems regarding health, the launching of the Western Medical Center is a huge step towards a better community and expect to decrease health issues. Palawan is named as the Best Island in the World and one of the main visited places in the country. It is very necessary to have a reliable hospital on the island.

Because of the demands and growing population in Palawan, it has brought the conclusions to establish the hospital in their area. Aside from that, the airport located in Puerto Princesa is an advantage for transportations of patients from neighboring islands.