By Edalyn B. Acta
It is now up to the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to address concerns about major infrastructure projects in Capiz that were raised by Governor Fredenil “Oto” Castro during a recent presidential visit.
During his speech, Castro specifically mentioned to President Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos about the unused new site of the Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital (RMPH) in Barangay Lanot, Roxas City.
The governor lamented that the new RMPH has not been finished by more than a dozen years. It was in 2010 when the site in Barangay Lanot was first constructed with funding from the Department of Health (DOH).
But completion of the five-story new hospital faced delays due to problems with funding and its contractors, which was chosen by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as the implementing agency in construction works.
The new site of RMPH is supposed to have been turned over to the Capiz Provincial Government last December 2024.
The governor is now supporting a bill authored by 2nd District Congresswoman Jane Castro, his wife, that proposes to convert RMPH into a DOH-managed hospital.
Castro also reminded President Marcos that it was his father’s administration that the blueprint for Panay River Basin Integrated Development Project (PRBIDP) was initiated.
To be undertaken by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the PRBIDP mainly aims to provide irrigation and also have a flood control and hydroelectric power component.
Currently, the PRBIDP awaits the completion of its feasibility study and its detailed engineering design.
Castro remains hopeful and even recalled that President Marcos gave him an assurance about starting PRBIDP during a February 2025 meeting with regional officials.
Caption
President Marcos with Governor Castro and Congresswoman Castro. (Photo by CPGCG)
