Villar Group joins DPWH, EEI to make quarantine facilities

MANILA, Philippines — The Villar Group is working with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Engineering Equipment Inc. (EEI) in the project to convert Forum Halls 1 to 3 of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City into an emergency health facility for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.

In support of President Duterte’s call to assist in fighting COVID-19, the Villar Group, DPWH and EEI are working together to redesign and transform the PICC forum halls into a COVID-19 facility within 10 days. 

The immediate conversion of the forum halls will significantly provide optimal isolation space for monitoring people infected with COVID-19.

The PICC is a multipurpose venue with usable area of about 4,000 square meters. Once converted, it is expected to accommodate about 630 patients.

Once completed, operation of PICC’s temporary health facility for treatment and monitoring of patients experiencing mild respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough and colds shall be under the supervision of the Department of Health (DOH).

Secretary to the Cabinet Karlo Nograles, spokesman for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said the government now has eight facilities for testing for COVID-19 to increase its capacity for detecting positive cases as part of measures to “flatten the curve” of the disease all over the country.

He said the eight facilities are the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, San Lazaro Hospital, UP National Institutes of Health and the Lung Center of the Philippines in NCR; Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center in Benguet; Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City; Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City and the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City. 

“The additional testing facilities will greatly help our capability to immediately identify and isolate the individuals afflicted with COVID-19,” said Nograles.

Philippine Arena

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said the Philippine Arena of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) in Bocaue, Bulacan and the New Clark City in Tarlac will be converted as quarantine sites to accommodate COVID-19 patients.

BCDA president and chief executive officer Vivencio Dizon, during the Laging Handa briefing yesterday, said the INC has offered the use of the Philippine Arena as a quarantine facility.

Considered the world’s largest indoor arena, the Philippine Arena has a maximum seating capacity of 55,000.

Dizon said the convention center in Clark, as well as the Athletes’ Village in New Clark City, would also be converted as quarantine facilities.

He said buildings in the government center within New Clark City would likewise be temporarily converted to serve as a COVID hospital.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Carlito Galvez Jr., also the chief implementor of the national task force against COVID-19, said on Thursday he is talking to INC members to secure the Philippine Arena as soon as possible.

Galvez said they are also considering the Quezon Institute in Quezon City, Philippine Sports Complex formerly ULTRA in Pasig, Duty Free Philippines in Parañaque, Amoranto Sports Complex and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, both in Quezon City, as future quarantine facilities.

Galvez said the government is expecting within the next 10 days the conversion of Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila and the World Trade Center and PICC in Pasay as quarantine facilities.

He said the government will deploy three doctors and 50 nurses at Rizal Memorial.

Galvez said that many from the private sector have also pledged donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers. – With Louella Desiderio, Christina Mendez

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