Birthing Centers or Lying-in Clinics will mushroom in Valenzuela City this year as one of the flagship projects of the City Development Council (CDC) to address issues on high maternal mortality rate.

This is what CDC Chairman, Mayor WIN Gatchalian proposed, which the council approved and seconded in their meeting recently.  This is in line with continued commitment of the City Government to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of eight time-bound, concrete and specific targets aimed at significantly reducing, if not decisively eradicating poverty, by the year 2015.  “By building five more birthing centers around the city, we affirm our commitment to Goal 4, which is to “Reduce Child Mortality” and Goal 5, which is to “Improve Maternal Health,” which indicate, respectively, that infant mortality rate shall be given attention and births must be attended by skilled health personnel,” he said. 

The project stemmed out of the reports on alarming existence of the “hilot system,” which has risked the lives of a number of mothers and infants in the city, contrary to its purpose of being an alternative health care provider for the less fortunate. 

Mayor WIN appealed to the Punong Barangays of Valenzuela to help find suitable land areas or properties of at least 100 square meters, which can be utilized for the construction of five lying-in clinics around the city.  He furthered explained that the rough idea may be to, either, construct clinic extensions or sign a memorandum of agreement with land-owners who are willing to lend their idle properties to the government for a charitable cause. 

The City currently has three Lying-in Clinics serving Valenzuelanos in Barangay Marulas, Mapulang Lupa and Paso de Blas which, together with the Valenzuela Emergency Hospital, attend to births at minimal fee.

This year, the budget allocation for the improvement and construction of government facilities and roads is set to Php117,202,506, while Barangay Project funding amounts to Php16,000,000 for a total of Php133,202,506. 

In retrospect, 2010 projects concentrated on education and it never ceased to be one of the priorities of the local government until now.  In 2011, the thrust of developmental plans was on road-construction, infrastructures, and Day Care Centers. This year, improvement of health care services and government facilities will be paid more attention to.

Day Care Centers are still lined up for construction around the city to prepare Valenzuelano school children for kindergarten.  Other three key projects are: the Bahay Pag-asa, a rehabilitation center for Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) and a Senior Citizens Center which shall serve as a home for the abandoned elderly.