SP approves health and wellness ordinance
BACOLOD CITY — Bacolod finally moves up from being one of the ideal locations for information technology (IT)-enabled outsourcing industry, to also join the race to become the health and wellness tourism capital of the Visayas.
The Sanggunian Panlungsod approved recently on third and final reading the proposed ordinance for the development of the health and wellness industry in the city authored by Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue.
Last year, Batapa-Sigue, with the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) organized the Spa Association of Negros Occidental and spearheaded the 1st Health and Wellness Exhibitions in Bacolod. The ordinance seeks to complement the Philippines’s thrust to be the biggest medical tourism and wellness destination in Asia with the economic and social benefits of being a major player in the globalization of healthcare in the 21st century.
The ordinance encourages Bacolod to look at the three different health and wellness clusters that the Philippines has to offer, namely, the medical tourism cluster composed of modern, high-tech and world-class hospitals and medical centers, which are staffed by the most competent doctors and medical professionals.
The second is the retirement cluster which includes retirement villages, nursing homes and hospitals, and the third is the wellness cluster which includes spas, holistic therapies, traditional Filipino massage and complementary medicine.
Batapa-Sigue said Bacolod is well-positioned for the growth of wellness industry with the growing number of health spa and medical spas in the city that now provides jobs to almost 500 Negrenses.
The ordinance classifies the health and wellness tourism market for Bacolod to several segments, namely medical tourism, wellness and spas, nursing and elderly care, research and diagnostic services, health and organic products and alternative modalities. The ordinance also seeks to maintain the standards of spa establishments by requiring them to accredit with the city on yearly basis and subjecting them to regular inspection. It serves to also professionalize the massage therapists and spa personnel as health and wellness professionals and no longer as ordinary masseuse.
Thru the ordinance, a Bacolod Health and Wellness Committee (BHWC) shall be created to assist, guide and support the city government in developing and promoting the local health and wellness industry as one of the world-class destinations for medical and wellness tourism in the world.
