Philippine Orthopedic Center (File photo)
MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has declared moot a petition filed seven years ago questioning the privatization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC) after the plan was subsequently scuttled.
In its 12-page decision written by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando and published online recently, SC said it "finds that the petition has indeed become moot and academic by virtue of the supervening termination of the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) agreement that transpired after the filing of the petition".
The suit was filed in 2014 by patients and employees questioning the planned privatization of the hospital, claiming it violates constitutionally guaranteed rights to health care and equitable access to health services.
The privatization would have been carried out under a 25-year BOT scheme with Megawide Construction Corporation and World Citi Medical Center.
The POC, located along Banawe St. in Quezon City, was planned for relocation to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute compound on East Avenue and finished in 2017.
In 2015, the private consortium served a notice of termination of the P5.7-billion BOT agreement because of the Department of Health’s delayed compliance with the agreed delivery of the project site through a certificate of possession.
The deal would have allowed the government to relinquish its duty and responsibility to provide and ensure basic social service to a private entity, the petitioners claimed.
At the time, the POC had a 700-bed capacity, 85 percent of which are allocated to non-paying patients, while only 15 percent, or 95 beds, are for paying patients.
Under the privatization plan, only 10 percent of the 700 beds, or 70 beds, will be apportioned to non-paying patients, the petitioners said. (PNA)
