Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama plans to seek the help of the national government on plans to put up a new water dam here and for the establishment of a power plant that will address the city’s growing power supply needs.
At the same time, Rama said, he will also work for the conversion of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) into a specialty hospital.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Rama said, he got a “go-signal” to pursue his administration’s priority programs after he heard President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. talk of his administration’s priority programs during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.
Marcos mentioned during his SONA of the “precarious fresh water supply situation, especially in urban areas,” noting that many of the water systems in the country date back to as early as the 1950s and must now be rehabilitated and improved.
The President has instructed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to explore possible partnerships with the private sector in order to pursue this priority program.
With the President’s recent pronouncement, Rama said, he saw an opportunity to also lobby for the construction of a new water dam here. An option is to push for the desilting of the Buhisan Dam to increase its storage capacity back to when it was built 110 years ago for the Osmeña Waterworks.
The need for a new power plant in the city was also highlighted following the blackout that was experienced after Super Typhoon Odette hit on December 16, 2021.
And Rama said he found a reason to pursue this after President Marcos Jr. mentioned of the need to build new power plants and explore other energy sources during his SONA.
Rama said he prefers the use of renewable energy that may come from solar farms or windmills in the city’s hinterlands. However, he said, that he is still open to the use of traditional sources, provided that these use technologies that mitigate any adverse impact on the environment.
And while he is in office, Rama said, he will work for the conversion of CCMC into one of the specialty hospitals outside of Metro Manila. He said CCMC could become like a heart center, lung center, a hospital that specializes on children, or even a kidney and transplant institute.
With his plan to build another building at the CCMC compound, Rama said, the new structure may be used as a wellness center or cater to patients with diabetes, cancer, and other critical illnesses, in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH).
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