EDITORIAL – CH should prioritize CCMC's immediate completion

The management of Cebu City Medical Center denied a newspaper report that Mayor Tomas Osmeña has suspended for three months the ongoing construction of the new building because of the delay in the completion of phase one.

According to CCMC hospital administrator Kenneth Siasar, he has not received any order from City Hall to stop the project and that the contractor, C.E. Padilla Construction Inc., continues doing the building's civil works.

Osmeña himself clarified that his order, issued on April 6, was only for the temporary suspension of the interior works of the building. He said on his Facebook page that the city hospital's construction has been ongoing.

City residents can only hope for the immediate completion of the entire CCMC building. For them, the hospital's full operation would only mean more patients, especially the poor, can immediately start benefitting from its services.

The new CCMC building's completion has long been overdue. It has been almost five years since the old edifice was demolished following the massive earthquake in 2013 that rendered it non-operational.

The lack of funds largely contributed to the delay in the construction of the building. The previous administration had a hard time securing funds for it. It even solicited financial assistance from Cebuanos abroad, aside from launching the "Piso-Piso Program" to start the construction.

Cebuanos just cannot afford any further delay in the construction of the new city hospital. Any delay would only prolong their agony since many of them have been left with no choice, resorting to seeking treatment in expensive private hospitals.

CCMC's immediate return to full operation is crucial to the city government's program rendering maximum healthcare services to its inhabitants. It is the only government medical facility where the city's poor can immediately run to. Therefore, city officials should unite and prioritize its speedy completion.