THE onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic is a testament on the urgency for the government to act quickly on the need for an honest-to-goodness healthcare system for the poor Filipino families.
Sadly though, there are some groups against the idea of giving premium to healthcare over the so called cultural heritage – just like what hounds the construction of the Rizal Provincial Taytay Annex, which had just been inaugurated three years after actual construction began.
According to Taytay Advocates of Cultural Heritage, the demolition of the old Taytay municipal hall is a big mistake, citing the building as a “cultural heritage.”
Taytay, which is referred to as the Garments Capital of the Philippines, was once a hotbed for Covid-19 infection with a death rate of 50 percent, according to a web-based research organization Ovulation Calculator.
But the so-called pro-heritage group doesn’t seem to care as espoused in its most recent statement posted over the social media.
According to the group, the hospital which now caters to health concerns of the local folks, could have been constructed elsewhere. Among the places identified by the Taytay Advocates of Cultural Heritage included an area near the Taytay Sports Complex in Barangay Muzon, Highway 2000, Club Manila East and the perennially flooded Kalayaan Park at the old town proper.
Except for the Kalayaan Park, all other parcels which the group mentioned are either private-owned or hounded by court litigations over numerous claims – which means the provincial government will have to wait for who knows how long before the construction of the RPHS Taytay Annex could start.
As for the Kalayaan Park, the area is flood-prone and too congested as roads leading to the park are either on a bumper-to-bumper traffic or too narrow because of numerous obstructions.
As far as the construction of the RPHS Taytay Annex is concerned, the former administration (provincial and municipal) did the right thing – to make a judgment call based on what is for the best interest of the people.
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