On Monday Demolition of old CCMC bldg set

CEBU, Philippines - In time for the 77th Charter anniversary of Cebu City on Monday, the demolition of the wrecked Cebu City Medical Center will also begin.

The CCMC ad hoc committee yesterday agreed the demolition schedule.

The committee is chaired by Councilor Mary Ann Delos Santos. Its members are: lawyer Jerone Castillo, Cebu City Traffic Operations Management Executive Director Rafael Yap, Cebu City Council committee on health chairperson Lea Japson, lead convenor of CCMC's Championing the Advancement, Restoration and Establishment (CARE) movement Dr. Shawn Espina, and architect Miko Espina.

"We agreed that the timeline of demolition within the month of February, so we are just right for that and it's very timely because charter day will be on Monday. Isn't that very significant?" Delos Santos told reporters.

She said the demolition of the old CCMC building, which shall be done by the city government, will take two to three months. 

In the 4,000 square-meter lot, a new five-story CCMC building will be built, she said.

"We will try our best that the demolition would be no cost on the part of the city government considering that we have donated funds for that. We will do our best as far the city capabilities are concern to demolish it. We will exhaust everything," Delos Santos said.

The demolition will cost P100 million. This covers the destruction of the temporary Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-7 building, CCMC school of nursing and for the rehabilitation and installation of drainage system in the area.

The city earlier projected the reconstruction at P1.5 billion.

However, the main hospital and consolidated government offices are approximated to cost P1 billion. This amount will reportedly cover the cost for demolition and the construction of a new integrated building and other contingencies arising the project, Espina said.

But, the projected amounts exclude the budget for equipment and facilities.

 "This is not for us but practically for the whole Cebuanos, taking pride on coming up with a modern state of the art and affordable first public hospital," Delos Santos said.

She said the city might tap the Cebu Constructors Association to help in the demolition process as part of maximizing the city's "resources."

"We have agreed that while doing the infrastructure simultaneously we will also be doing the software, the manpower and all other inter-agency (concerns) in coming up with different departments which will be handled by the medical directors and some other directors," she added.

Mayor Michael Rama said the P500 million pledged by the Department of Health (DOH) to the city government was supposed to be utilized for the construction of the said hospital.

Rama however said that during yesterday's budget dialogue for the General Appropriations Act of 2015, the amount was not included by the national government in their national budget this year.

The donations from different stakeholders and private entities will be utilized for the construction of a new medical facility.

These include the P100 million from Operation Smile under the aegis of Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung and construction expenses of the new pediatric ward committed by the Philippine Pediatric Society, Inc. through Central Visayas Chapter president Jacqueline Espina.

Last month, two of Cebu City's sister cities - Haarlemmermeer in the Netherlands and Xiamen in China - helped in raising funds for the hospital's reconstruction. Xiamen has already donated P600,000 to the city.

Also, the city government received donations amounting to $1,000 from Dallas, USA; P700,000 from two Chinese nationals; P50,000 from private individuals, among others also for CCMC's reconstruction.

Likewise, the "Piso Mo Hospital Ko" fund drive has reached to P11 million, said Delos Santos.  (FREEMAN)