City gets DOH nod to rebuild CCMC

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Health has recently issued the Cebu City government a permit to construct and license to operate the Cebu City Medical Center new city hospital.

Acting Mayor Edgardo Labella yesterday said CCMC Chief of Hospital Gloria Duterte and the hospital Personnel Services Division Chief Rey Cris Panugaling went to DOH-Manila last week for the said license and permit.

Labella said construction of the medical facility, which was initially set in October, would immediately start once the bidding process, which would last a month, is done.

“All systems go for the construction. We already had a groundbreaking on site. But, we have to go through the bidding process, and the notification of such must be wide for transparency,” he said.

Also, Labella said the Office of the Building Official has already approved the construction of the hospital. The new 10-storey hospital building, which would cost P1.5 billion, would be built by phases on the 500-square-meter property located at the corner of N. Bacalso Avenue and Panganiban Street.

The P300-million supplemental budget that the City Council has approved and the P16 million proceeds from the “Piso Mo Hospital Ko” fund drive will be utilized as seed money to begin the construction.

During the “walk for CCMC” event over the weekend, the city was able to raise half a million pesos that would be added to the funds for hospital construction.

Labella said Mayor Michael Rama, who is now in the United States of America for a month-long vacation, told him that he also received several pledges from non-government organizations and private entities totaling P21. 5 million.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. has also pledged to shoulder the construction of the second or third floor of the hospital that would cost P146 million, while Operation Smile, a non-profit medical organization, would finance the construction of one whole wing

With the funds gathered so far, Councilor Mary Ann Delos Santos, who heads the CCMC ad hoc committee, said the first five stories of the hospital building is seen to operate in 2016. (FREEMAN)