Help PGH recover– Sen. Richard Gordon

Sen. Richard Gordon calls on agencies to help in the immediate recovery of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila from the fire that damaged one of its buildings last Saturday, May 15, 2021.

Gordon, also chair of the Philippine Red Cross,  urged the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to immediately conduct the investigation and for the Government Service Insurance System (GSISI) to prepare for the forthcoming insurance claims so that restoration works and replacement of equipment can immediately proceed.

Gordon also asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to take their cue from the private-public partnerships and help in the repairs at the PGH.

“We need to make sure that we are able to act right away so that our professionals in the PGH, our staff and for the sake of all the patients that rely on this, can proceed in the task of curing the sick,” Gordon said in his privilege speech, May 17, 2021, a day after the fire hit the PGH.

PGH Fiscal Services warning

Meanwhile, the PGH Fiscal Services issued a public bulletin warning of “individuals” calling for “donations” on behalf of the hospital using their private bank accounts.

“If PGH is calling for cash donations, we will provide the duly authorized bank account under the name of PGH,” reads the announcement.

Barely hours after the fire was declared under control, Renee Louise M. Co, University of the Philippines (UP) Student Regent, posted an appeal at Facebook, asking for monetary and material donations on behalf of the PGH.

Co is the same UP official who prevented the parents under the ‘Hands Off Our Children’ (HOOC) alliance from staging a peaceful protest at UP Diliman over the continued recruitment of the front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) of minors and students aimed at the violent overthrow of the government thru armed struggle.

She was also at the forefront of the UP protest early this year on the termination of the UP-DND Accord of 1989.

Informed sources said possible legal cases are being considered against Co for using the PGH fire to solicit money using her personal bank account but allegedly without the knowledge and consent of the PGH administration.