Garcia told: Put on hold P700 million

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Council has once again tackled the ongoing construction of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC), this time urging again Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia to put on hold the use of the allocated P700 million to finish the hospital building.

In an executive session, the City Council members wanted that issues surrounding the construction, including donations from private institutions coursed through the Cebu Medical Society, be ironed out first.

It was determined during a previous session that at least P200 million has been accumulated in donations for the CCMC building construction.

The donors include Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Ayala Land, Inc., D.M. Consunji, Inc. (DMCI) Holdings, Filinvest Land, Inc., and Megawide Construction Corp., Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Robinsons Land Corp., SBS Philippines Corp., and SM Prime Holdings, Inc.

Doctor Peter Mancao, CCMC medical director, was absent from the City Council executive session, informing he was still recuperating from a surgery and cannot joint the session.

During the discussion, South Road Properties Management Office Head Bo Varquez stood first and said that there is already P205 million in funding to finish the construction of the 7th, 8th, 9th floor of the CCMC. According to him, they are still following the old plan, including the old Programs of Works and Estimates (POWE).

He added that a tripartite agreement must be drafted first between the Cebu City Government, CMS, and the private donors so the City can begin utilizing the accumulated funds.

Jonathan Tumulak, representative of the Department of the Engineering and Public Works (DEPW), said they have issued a certificate of completion and acceptance to C.E. Padilla Construction Inc. (CEPCI), the previous contractor for Phase 1 of the CCMC construction.

He said that for Phase 2 which include the lower ground floor and the upper ground floor, they haven't closed the project yet to CEPCI.

"So, in other words, you cannot proceed with Phase 3 until you have given a Certificate of Completion and Acceptance to CE Padilla? I think that is very basic in construction or whatever, " said City Councilor Mary Ann De los Santos.

De los Santos further said that it is only when the first two phases have been issued with Certificates of Completion that construction of Phase 3 will begin.

She said that it was in 2016 that they approved P300 million for Phase 2 and the Phase 1 had a budget of P500 million.

On the P110 million owed to CEPCI, Tumulak said that it is for the additional works undertook that was not stipulated in their contract. Those included the conversion of a floor to a holding area of COVID patients during the pandemic.

He also said that the DEPW has requested a Supplemental Budget, which includes this but it has not been approved yet.

De los Santos further said that with the numbers of variation orders or additional works done since the beginning of construction in 2014, this is tantamount to saying that the project was bid out “without a complete and approved detailed engineering plan".

Tumulak, however, disagreed saying that the engineering plan was complete only that the scope of work was changed.

Tumulak, though, admitted that that there were more than five variation orders since the beginning of the construction last 2014.

"That's the very reason why hangtod karon di gyud na mahuman ang CCMC," De los Santos said.

Tumulak, however, said that the variation orders are due to the lack of budget being appropriated first which led them to request for more as the construction progresses. He added, the changes were also necessary to accommodate the need to respond to the pandemic.

He also said that the Phase 1 included the building of the structural frame from the Lower Ground going to the 6th floor hence the issuance of the Certificate of Completion.

With this, he added, the construction can continue from the 7th floor until 10th floor since the structural frame has already been built.

The executive session ended with DEPW being asked to submit documents, including payment statements, and for CEPCI to join the City Council in another executive session on Oct. 17.(CEBU NEWS)