Upper floors of CCMC still not operational 

CEBU CITY, Philippines—More work needs to be done in the higher floors of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) which remained under construction as of Monday, August 9, 2021.

Hospital Administrator Yvonne Cania, in an interview with reporters on Sunday, August 8, said they cannot push through with the opening the three upper floors of CCMC on Monday. 

“Dili. Nitan-aw gyud mi sa diperensya. Nag on site mi.  And ocular with the acting mayor kung unsay mga kinahanglan pa trabahoon,” Cania said. 

(It’s not ready. We saw what it lacked. We were on site. We did an ocular with the acting mayor on what needs to be worked on.)

Cania said they decided to extend the work timeline for CCMC in order not to compromise health of patients and workers there. 

“Dili nato angay gyud idali-dali, labi na health na sa tawo,” she added. 

(We should not hasten this, especially since this is for the health of people.)

The hospital executive said some of the works in progress included completing the ramp, comfort rooms, and isolation rooms. 

Acting City Mayor Michael Rama earlier said he wanted the upper three floors of CCMC, which has already incurred multiple and years-long delays, to supposedly start accommodating patients this Monday. 

READ: Rama wants CCMC upper floors operational by Aug. 9

Rama also threatened to terminate the contractor in charge in the event that they will not be able to meet the deadline. 

However, according to Cania, they have requested Rama to give them ‘a maximum of three weeks’ to open the hospital’s three upper floors. 

/bmjo