Unless they get hold of a list of those who have expressed willingness to help fund the construction of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC), it would be difficult for the current administration to make a follow-up of these pledges, said Councilor Margot Osmeña.
Osmeña said that if pledges are monetized, this would amount to around P900 million that may be used to complete the construction project.
“(But) where is the list for the pledges?” Osmeña asked during the council session on August 15.
Discussions on the P900 million worth of foreign pledges started after the council went over the list of donors under the “Piso Mo, Hospital Ko” program, a fund-raising campaign which former mayor Michael Rama started to help raise funds for his hospital reconstruction project.
City Hall raised a total of P21.7 million from from its piso campaign, as of December 31, 2016.
Osmeña later on raised a concern as to why the listing of foreign pledges was not included in the report submitted by the City Accounting Office.
Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera of Barug Team Rama replied that Operation Smile International made a P100-million pledge for the hospital reconstruction project.
“That is only one. So there is still P800 million (worth) of pledges that we would like to follow up if we can still follow (it) up,” Osmeña retorted.
Osmeña said that while the opposition bloc has been saying that actual collection of the P900 million in pledges can be made if the current administration would make follow-ups with those who made the pledges, nobody bothered to show them a copy of said list.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña earlier raised a challenge for Rama and Pesquera to make a public presentation of the money which they raised from solicitations they made abroad.
He even threatened to file charges against all of those involved in “dubious” transactions entered into by his predecessor.