Three “important guests” visited Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Wednesday afternoon to discuss investment opportunities and the planned reconstruction of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) – Gov. Hilario Davide III and Filinvest Land Inc. owner Andrew Gotianun Sr. and his son, Andrew Jr.
Filinvest has an ongoing project on a 1.2-hectare lot owned by the Cebu provincial government along Salinas Drive. The company is developing the old city jail and CPDRC lot near the Asia Town IT Park into a BPO complex.
Rama said Davide and the Gotianuns met with him about traffic concerns at their development site. Andrew Sr. is founder and chairman emeritus of FLI while Andrew Jr. is the company’s vice chairperson.
“We have stakes on the project. Eventually ma apil gyud ta because their investment is located in the city, they are paying taxes to the city and they will be giving employment to city residents so this becomes a primordial concern of the city,” Rama said.
Rama delivered his State of the City Address (SOCA) before meeting with Davide and the Gotianuns last Wednesday.
In his speech, Rama had also tackled traffic issues at the Banilad-Talamban area where a no-left turn rule was imposed four days ago.
The mayor told the Gotianuns how the 7.2-magnitude earthquake which hit Cebu on October 15, 2013 affected the city, especially CCMC. He also brought the two Gotianuns to the area where the old hospital used to stand.
“They said that they are ready to help but they did not say how much they are willing to donate to the city,” Rama said.
In his SOCA, Rama spoke of his efforts to raise money for the hospital reconstruction project.
“Our effort to raise the needed funds for its rebuilding is continuing and had shown great promise. I have told all of you then, and I will tell you again now, I do mind being labeled a professional beggar in the annals of history. But for this noble cause, I will continue to beg, in my own way, to anybody who cares, be he a person or an institution, in order to raise the needed funds that will bring back the people’s hospital,” Rama said in his SOCA.
The city government set aside P300 million for the initial stages of the hospital reconstruction project while another P15 million was raised from donors.
Rama plans to allocate more for CCMC in the Supplemental Budget 2 that he would soon present to the City Council.
The project’s ground breaking is scheduled within the month.
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