OLONGAPO:
A HEALTHY CITY
CITY BACKGROUND
Location
Olongapo City is located at the southernmost portion of Zambales. It is about
127 kilometers north of Metro Manila. It is bordered by the Municipality of Subic
(Zambales) in the north, Dinalupihan (Bataan) in the south, Morong (Bataan) in the
southeast, and Subic Bay in the southwest.
Land Area and Population
The city has a total land area of 103.3 square kilometers. It is composed of 17
barangays, all of which are urban. As of 1995, it has about 38,983 households.
Olongapo’s population decreased from 193,327 in 1990 to 179,754 in 1995 or by
7 percent. Accordingly, population density per square kilometer fell from 1,872 persons
in 1990 to 1,740 persons in 1995. The population decline may be due to outmigration
resulting from the U.S. Navy withdrawal from Subic and the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. As of
1994, about 28 percent of the population live below the poverty threshold level.
Health Facilities
The city has one main health center, one government hospital, and eight private
hospitals. It has 18 barangay health stations (BHSs): two for Sta. Rita and one each for
the remaining 16 barangays. Every barangay has a doctor, a nurse, and a midwife.
Large barangays even have three midwives. A dentist comes to the barangays once a
week.
The city government owns and operates the James Gordon Memorial Hospital
(formerly the Olongapo City General Hospital). It has a capacity of 155 beds and
serves not only patients from the city but also those from the neighboring municipalities
and provinces. The private hospitals have a combined capacity of 156 beds,
All services and medicines are free in the health center and stations. For those
who want to give contribution, a donation box is placed in each site. In the hospital,
most of the patients are service (charity) patients. Of the 7,438 patients admitted in
1995, the service patients comprised 76 percent, while medicare and pay patients
constituted 11 percent and 13 percent, respectively
Health Expenditure/Budget
The city’s health expenditures increased from P18.8 million in 1991 (predevolution) to P23.6 million in 1994 (post-devolution) but its proportion to total city
expenditures declined substantially from 26 percent in 1991 to only 8 percent in 1994.
The share of basic health services in total health expenditures also fell from 44 percent
to 41 percent while that of hospital expenditures rose from 56 percent to 58 percent from
1991 to 1994.
For 1995, the city allotted P31.9 million for health which constituted 16.6 percent
of its total budget. Of this amount, about 58 percent was for the hospital and 36 percent
was for the City Health Office (CHO). The remaining six percent was used for social
reform agenda (SRA) activities and social infrastructure. For 1997, the city health budget
of P63.5 million was 25 percent of Olongapo’s total budget. It was allocated into 63
percent for the hospital, 30 percent for the CHO, and 7 percent for SRA activities and
social infrastructure.
Health Performance
Selected health indicators denote improvement in health conditions in Olongapo
City. As Table 1 shows, the city’s mortality rates and malnutrition rates have declined
from 1990 to 1995. They were also lower than the average for the Philippines.
There are also no cases of diphtheria and tetanus in Olongapo City. The
proportion of fully immunized children (FIC) is 90 percent of the target population. If
those served by private practitioners are included, the ratio is 100 percent. The city
health staff, together with the community health volunteers, obtain a monthly listing
of births from the local civil registrar. They get the addresses of the babies and schedule
them for immunization. If the parents fail to bring the babies on the date scheduled, the
health staff visit them and make follow-ups.
By: Glenn Vincent P. ONG
