City Health Department told: Open super family health center ASAP

CEBU, Philippines — Acting Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia yesterday tasked the City Health Department to act fast and open by June 28 a health facility in Barangay Apas that remained unused for two years already since its construction.

This came after he visited Guba Community Hospital two Saturdays’ ago and worked out how phase two of its extension building could already proceed so the structure could be finished and serve the people in the mountain barangays.

Yesterday, he visited the “Cebu City Super Family Health Center” in San Antonio Village, Apas and lamented over the lack of urgency of the people in government.

“Nganong langayon pa man nato’g abli? Duha ka tuig?” he said.

“Mañana habit ba ni? We don’t have the sense of urgency anymore in government, nga di nato mapadali og paabli ang importante nga mga facilities diri sa siyudad sa Sugbo?” he added.

Construction of the P14.9-million center was funded by the Department of Health, which turned it over to the Cebu City government only last April. The building does not yet have an occupancy permit.

Upon learning this, he immediately instructed the city’s Office of the Building Official (OBO) to release the permit within the week so the CHD can open it by the end of the month.

“Sayang kaayo,” Garcia said of the facility, which residents of neighboring barangays could also benefit from, thus de-clogging the city’s hospitals.

He said he could understand if the delay was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic due to the restrictions, but not this.

He then mentioned the hospital in Guba, which has been finished yet despite the start of construction six years ago, due to the absence of a building permit and of an occupancy permit.

The other day, he mentioned that the contractor assured to submit all requirements so the OBO could already issue the required building permit.

Yesterday, OBO officials led by their head, Architect Florante Catalan, went to Guba to inspect the hospital facility.

As for the Apas facility, Garcia told CHD Chief Daisy Villa, who was with him in the inspection, she has 17 days to ready it for the public.

“Magamit pa ni. I already gave an instruction by the 28th of this month, kailangan maabli na ni,” he said.

DOH Development Management Officer Miguel Gerson, in separate interview yesterday, challenged the City Government to make the facility operational, as it is the first Super Health Center in Central Visayas.

He said there are three planned super family health centers in the city, with negotiation for that in Brgy. Basak San Nicolas still ongoing while that in Barangay Labangon still needs a building permit for construction to proceed.

“Unya sa giingon pa sa atong DOH, ato gyung gipaspasan, gipaspasan na ni,” Villa said, in response.

“Kinahanglan operational ug tan-awon nato kay daghan tang giapas,” she added.

She said CHD would need a bigger budget to acquire all needed equipment for the facility to be truly a super health center that is accredited by PhilHealth.

Matt Serana, former officer of the now closed Mayor’s Information and Liaison Office (MILO) in Apas, said that land where the facility stood was previously under the supervision of the San Antonio Village Homeowners Association and was being utilized as the subdivision’s parking lot without the association knowing that it is a city-owned lot.

He said that when the Universal Health Bill and the Malasakit Health Center were introduced, the DOH birthed the proposal of establishing the Super Family Health Centers across the country.

Serana said it was them who submitted the documents, only that when the pandemic struck restrictions delayed the start of construction.

“During that time nagsakit na si Mayor (Edgar) Labella. Nag-ilis-ilis na. Nailis nas Mayor (Michael) Rama, so ang supposed to be mudawat ani sa turnover ug sa papeles, nailisan na pud, so daghan kaayo siyag factors,” he said.

Aside from this, the San Antonio Village Homeowners Association had asserted ownership of the lot where the center stands.

“Mao lagi, nalangay ang papeles…. Nahuman nalang siya, wa gihapon ma-operational,” Serana said. — (FREEMAN)