Construction of the PHP200 million-worth new Umingan Community Hospital (UCH) broke ground on Thursday, the first building eyed for the provincial government’s township project.

“I’m proud to say this is the first township project and of the modernization of our hospitals. To the townspeople of Umingan, let’s claim it, this is already our accomplishment,” Pangasinan Governor Ramon Guico III said during the ceremony.

The 55-bed capacity hospital will be constructed on a four-hectare land in Barangay Gonzales here.

The existing UCH is located in Barangay Poblacion, near the municipal hall. Medical authorities earlier said the 15-bed capacity hospital caters to nearly 50 patients.

Guico is hopeful that construction of the new hospital will be finished this year.

He said part of the financing will come from the province’s share in the Tobacco Excise Tax while the rest will be sourced from the provincial government’s budget.

Part of the township project includes the construction of a transport terminal, a commercial area with modern stalls, a housing component, a daycare center, a park, and a social hall.

“It’s a township. It is small but we will make do with the land that we have acquired,” Guico said.

Vice Mayor Chris Evert Tadeo-Leynes, in an interview, said some patients of the existing UCH, which also caters to patients from neighboring towns of Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija, need to go to other hospitals for additional services.

“This is a realization of our dream,” she said, noting that the project “has a long-term impact on the people.”

She said the township project increases employment opportunities for the locals.

Umingan is a first-class municipality with 58 villages. (PNA)

Photo credit: Facebook/ProvinceOfPangasinanOfficial