ANGELES CITY, Pampanga – Mayor Carmelo ‘Pogi’ Lazatin Jr. fulfilled his promise to improve the Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center (RLMMC) or ‘Ospital Ning Angeles’ (ONA) as he led the groundbreaking for the construction of the RLMMC in Bgy. Pampang.

The RLMMC will be a four-story building with a roof deck and laboratory. It will serve as an annex building to the present RLMMC. The present RLMMC shall be converted into a dormitory for nurses and a dialysis center.

With a contract price of P473.8 million, the construction of the RLMMC marks the beginning of the planned improvements to the city’s public hospital under Lazatin’s administration.

“Today, we take another step towards achieving our dream of making quality health care accessible for Angeleños from all walks of life,” Lazatin said.

It can be recalled that when he ran for Angeles City Mayor in 2019, one of the promises Lazatin made was to improve the services and facilities of the RLMMC.

During the 2019 mayoralty campaign, Lazatin ran on a six-point platform – one of which is public health.

In his first six months in office alone, Lazatin implemented several landmark projects and programs for public health, such as the establishment of the Puso Center, a 3-in-1 clinic providing medical services to indigent residents free of charge; the provision of financial and medical assistance and free medicines for indigent residents, especially for senior citizens in the city; the provision of Vitamin A Supplements to 4,179 children; and the anti-flu vaccination for senior citizens.

When the COVID-19 virus broke out not even a year into his term, Lazatin put pandemic response on top of his agenda.

The city is currently averaging 10,000 inoculations per day and has been recently commended by World Health Organization Representative and Surveillance Officer Dr. Yohannes Getahun for the city’s efficient blended vaccination scheme.

Lazatin is running for a second term as city mayor.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Bernard Galang