All’s well that ends well.

 Senator Bam Aquino lauded the Department of Health and the National Housing Authority for settling their dispute over the land presently occupied by the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC).

“We would like to thank Secretary Janette Garin of the DOH and NHA administrator Chito Cruz for working together and coming up with a solution,” Aquino said during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Health on the land dispute.

“Officials and employees of PCMC have nothing to worry because the land that they’ve been occupying for decades will finally be theirs,” added Aquino.

During the hearing, the DOH and the NHA informed the committee that they will sign a memorandum of agreement to settle the ownership dispute.

Under the MOA, the DOH will pay NHA an initial P500 million from its 2015 budget for the land. The remaining P400 million will be paid from the agency’s 2016 budget.

The NHA, for its part, will convey the title of the land occupied by the PCMC to the DOH. The housing agency also requested the DOH to implement the 2003 valuation of the land.

“This is an early Christmas gift to the thousands of Filipino children who enjoy free and quality medical service from PCMC,” Aquino added.

Also, Aquino also revealed that the PCMC will receive a total budget of P1.226 billion, P500 million of which will be allocated for the payment of the land.

Aquino said P400 million will be used for the upgrading of the hospital building and P326 million for new equipment and new hospital wing.