CCMC bidding set for August

CEBU, Philippines — Re-bidding for the completion of the Cebu City Medical Center’s (CCMC) Phase 4 may be done by August, City Councilor Jerry Guardo said.

This, as Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia announced that he is creating a Task Force for CCMC, to ensure CCMC’s completion, or including the 8th to 10th floor.

“The Task Force members will come from different fields to oversee, from the bidding, construction, until the completion of the contract,” said Guardo, who has been named as part of it.

Guardo, whom Garcia designated as CCMC overseer, said that based on their meeting Friday afternoon, there is still around P648 to P650 million available funds for the completion of Phase 4 of the hospital’s structure.

“I think they have scheduled the start sa bidding sometime in August siguro…. Mao nay timeline nila,” Guardo in an interview with The Freeman said.

“And hopefully, whoever would be the winning contractor, it will complete the third to sixth (floors) and a portion of the seventh floor,” he added, explaining that a portion of the 7th floor had already been allotted for use by Operation Smile.

The P650 million is unused funds after Mayor Michael Rama terminated the contract for Phase 4 after finding the construction progress very slow.

Rama this year supposedly assigned City Administrator Collin Rosell to oversee CCMC’s completion, but they, along with six other officials, were preventively suspended for six months by the Office of the Ombudsman for a case filed by four City Hall employees.

Guardo said almost everything is already in place for Operation Smile, including its operating tables, but it still could not start because of their power supply and the service elevator.

As for the power supply, Guardo said, Operation Smile has already been energized. As for the elevators for patients, he said it is already bid out.

Based on the City government’s site’s posting, the installation of two elevator units at CCMC has approved budget of P10.96 million that will be charged to the “Piso Mo, Hospital Ko Trust Fund” — (FREEMAN)