TACLOBAN CITY – The relocation of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) will not affect their operations but rather would possibly help boost their income. Thus said Janice Alota, administrative officer of the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC). The EVRMC is soon to be relocated adjacent to the PITAHC located in Barangay Bagacay which manufactures herbal medicines. “This is actually advantageous to us since we are more accessible to our potential consumers. With this development, we will expand our plantation to an adjacent land to maintain our production level,” Alota said. EVRMC will be transferred to storm surge-safe location in Bagacay from its current location near the coastline of the city’s Magsaysay Boulevard. The existing location of the regional hospital is within the property owned by the provincial government of Leyte.
The new EVRMC will rise in a 25- hectare site and is projected to be the “best state-owned regional hospital outside Metro Manila.” However, its construction has yet to start. PITAHC, which occupies 36 hectares, is a government-owned herbal medicine maker under the Department of Health. Its advocacy is to promote better health for Filipino through safe, effective and affordable traditional and health care products, services and technologies. From 2009 up to 2013, PITAHC’s nationwide net sales of herbal products have already totaled P371.75 million. “Herbal medicine is a trending topic that’s why our sales are increasing and herbal medicine is the country’s number one net sales of government-made herbal products nationwide,” Alota added. (JEANE MARIE M.FAMINOGAN, LNU Intern)
