Snags delaying CCMC construction identified

CEBU, Philippines - The special monitoring body for the construction of Cebu City Medical Center's first phase has identified some issues that need to be immediately addressed to avoid construction delays.

City Engineer Jose Marie Poblete said the group of architects and engineers has yet to examine the detailed design of the building's cistern tank and sewage treatment plan, even as piling works continues. Some electrical posts and a portion of the skywalk were also found encroaching the construction site.

These drawbacks, Poblete said, were reviewed by the body and have to be addressed immediately to keep the project on track with its schedule.

The new CCMC building will rise on the same lot where the old building was located. The old one was torn down after it damaged by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake two years ago.

An eight-man team, tagged as Special Project Management Team for CCMC, was created to supervise the construction of the new CCMC. Construction of the first phase began last July.

Weekly meetings are held with the contractor, C.E. Padilla Construction Inc; the consultants; designers; and other stakeholders, such as the CCMC management, CCMC Ad Hoc Committee, CCMC CARE, among others.

Armando Pangilinan, the contractor's project superintendent, requested before the body's architects for structural details on the underground plans such as the sewage treatment system and cistern tank for them to study the design's implication to the pile works and to the structure's condition.

He also noted that one of the obstructions at the building's perimeter was several electrical poles.

After establishing the building location and alignment based on their survey points, Pangilinan said they discovered that there are at least 13 electrical posts encroaching the property.

Further, the construction firm also had difficulty with the obstruction of the skywalk which crosses Panganiban Street. They found out that part of the skywalk intrudes the construction site after conducting the survey points on the site's gridlines based on the reference established by the Department of Engineering and Public Works Field Survey and Investigation Section.

Poblete, who heads the special body, said they planned the skywalk to be incorporated on the building's design as it will serve as one of the entrance points to the building.

"The skywalk will be reinforced first before a portion of it would be demolished and then would be restored later," he said.

After the discussions of the body, the detailed designs for the underground plans will then be defined.

The body also agreed for the contractor to submit weekly documentation of its accomplishments and activities every Friday.

They also planned to mount closed-circuit television cameras in the vicinity of the site to monitor construction works and also for security reasons. — May B. Miasco

Meanwhile, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV reportedly wants to bank in half a million worth of funds for use of qualified indigent patients at the government-owned hospital.

"This is to respectfully inform you that my office has allocated the amount of P500,000 intended for the use of indigent patients of the hospital, under Republic Act 10651, otherwise known as the General Appropriations Act of 2015. Rest assured that I will remain steadfast in our commitment to look after the welfare of our constituents," read the one-page letter of Trillanes dated March 18.

City Administrator Lucille Mercado, at this point, is still coordinating with the City Legal Office to ask for legal opinion regarding Trillanes' action. — May B. Miasco (FREEMAN)