City Hall seeks P400 million funding to complete CCMC

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has sought ?400 million in assistance from the office of Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito to complete the long-delayed Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).

Ejercito conducted a walkthrough of the hospital last Friday, where Archival’s Chief of Staff, Kenneth Siasar, showed him the overcrowded emergency room and unfinished wards.

Siasar said the additional funding would be used to complete the operating rooms, intensive care units (ICUs), delivery rooms and emergency facilities, including built-in systems such as lighting and oxygen pipelines that can still be installed while contractors remain on site.

He stressed that completing these systems now would prevent the city from incurring additional costs for retrofitting later.

“Lisud man gud tiwason nimo ang room nya wala pay gamit… so samtang naa pay contractor, e-prepare nimo daan,” Siasar said.

The current contractor, Dakay Construction, was awarded the project in March 2025 and received its notice to proceed in June of the same year.

Construction began in February this year, with structural work on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors now more than 80 percent complete.

Siasar said the city is targeting December 2026 to complete the upper floors. Patients will then be transferred to these areas to allow renovation work on the lower floors.

He clarified that Archival did not replace the contractor, noting that Dakay was awarded the project under the previous administration.

Ejercito, a strong advocate of healthcare development, acknowledged the urgency of expanding CCMC’s capacity.

He noted that the emergency room, which was designed to accommodate 40 to 45 patients, now handles 60 to 65 daily, with some patients seated while receiving oxygen and intravenous drips.

While he did not commit to providing the full ?400 million requested, Ejercito signaled his willingness to help.

The Commission on Audit, in its latest report, flagged ?1.13 billion already disbursed for the CCMC, citing inadequate engineering plans, unjustified contract extensions and missing technical documents.

Phase III of the project was extended from 150 days to 1,034 days, while Phase IV was terminated in January 2023 after reaching only 19.8 percent accomplishment.

Inspectors also found misaligned walls, nonconforming columns and nonfunctional systems, warning that the lapses had compromised the project’s timelines and structural integrity.

Despite the unfinished building, CCMC continues to serve an average of 200 outpatients daily and 65 emergency cases.

Siasar emphasized that hospital services have never stopped and that only the construction remains incomplete.

“Ang gitan-aw lang man gud sa mga tawo nga ang building wapa nahuman… pero ang serbisyo nagpadayon ta,” he said.

Through Siasar, Archival also stressed that his administration would not resort to piecemeal inaugurations but would instead focus on substantial completion of the facility.

“Uban sa atong padayong paningkamot ug sa suporta sa national government, atong paningkamotan nga kining dugay nang gipaabot nga CCMC mahuman na ug mahatag sa atong katawhan,” he said.  — (FREEMAN)