History
On June 21, 1969, Republic Act 5702 was passed with the efforts of Senator Alejandro D.
Almendras and Congressman Lorenzo P. Sarmiento, with the aim of establishing a National
Hospital in the Municipality of Magugpo (now Tagum City) in the Province of Davao. The
hospital was officially organized in 1972, with a sanctioned capacity of 50 beds and
providing outpatient services at Toribio Building in Poblacion, Tagum. It opened its
doors to the public on January 26, 1974, offering tertiary level care to the local area
and nearby provinces. In April 1980, Administrative Order No. 82, issued by the Ministry
of Health, changed the hospital's name to Davao Regional Hospital (DRH) and reclassified
it as a regional hospital with a 100-bed capacity. In 1992, the hospital expanded its
bed capacity to 150. It was also during this time that Dr. Romulo Busuego was appointed
as the first Fellow employee of the Philippine College of Surgery (PCS), which led to
the establishment of DRH's Department of Surgery. The Department of Surgery Residency
Training program was formally established, with Dr. Francisco Manzanarez as the first
chairperson and Dr. Alex Tan as the first Training Officer. Associate members of the
department included Drs. Leopoldo Vega, Jose S. Bacaltos, Herman Hernandez, Kian Wong,
and Sergio Dalisay. In 2000, the Mindanao Integrated Surgical Residency Training Program
was created in partnership with Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), formerly
known as Davao Medical Center (DMC).
On August 1, 2001, DRH acquired a license to operate with a capacity of 200 beds. Then
on August 26, 2015, Davao Regional Hospital was renamed Davao Regional Medical Center
(DRMC) due to Republic Act 10678 signed by President Benigno S. Aquino III. This act
increased the bed capacity from 300 to 600. In 2012, the Section of Orthopedics was
established and led by Dr. Sergio Dalisay, alongside Drs. Jeremiah Morales and Dan
Bagarra as staff members. When Dr. Dalisay retired in March 2022, Dr. Jeremiah Morales
was appointed as the new Head of the Section of Orthopaedics. During this time, the
Department of Health issued Department Order 2021-0001, designating DRMC as a Specialty
Center for 13 clinical specialties under the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan
of Republic Act No. 11223, also known as the Universal Health Care Act of 2019. As a
result, Orthopedic and Brain and Spine Centers were established at DRMC, leading to the
idea of creating a Residency Training program in Orthopedics. Efforts were made to
complete the orthopedic consultant staff with various subspecialties, as well as the
recruitment of resident physicians dedicated to orthopedic care. Temporary arrangements
were made for the Department of Surgery to oversee specific orthopedic areas until the
department became fully operational. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed Republic Act
11819 on June 29, 2023, which has increased the bed capacity of DRMC to 1000 beds. In
June 2023, the Section of Orthopedics officially separated from the Department of
Surgery, and Drs. Dan Bagarra and Alfred Villarico were appointed as the Department
Chair and Training Officer, respectively. The department now consists of various
consultant subspecialists, including Trauma, Spine, Hip & Knee, Hip Preservation, Hand &
Microvascular, Elbow and Shoulder, Sports Medicine and Arthroscopic Surgery, Pediatrics,
and Foot and Ankle. Additionally, the department has hired 5 in-training residents to
complete its staff.
