The new building of Cebu City Medical Center. | CDN Digital File Photo (Morexette Erram)
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has ordered the opening of a portion of Panganiban Street in Cebu City, which was temporarily closed to give way to the ongoing construction of the new complex that will house the new Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).
In order to allow emergency vehicles like fire trucks to pass through in an emergency, Rama wanted that a portion of the restricted road be opened.
Situated near the vicinity of the new CCMC building, along Natalio Bacalso Avenue, corner Panganiban Street, are the Cebu City Fire Office and the office of the Bureau of Fire Protection in Central Visayas.
During his latest site inspection on the ongoing construction of CCMC, last July 27, 2022, Rama has asked the City Engineering Office why there was a road closure being implemented on the portion of Panganiban St. leading to the new CCMC complex.
“Who is fencing the road?…Why was it being fenced when there was no fence on that part when this hospital started its construction?” Rama asked.
The mayor said unnecessary fencing of a road meant for public use would be illegal.
The City Engineering Office, however, said that the area currently served as the contractor’s staging area where they could also put their construction materials.
The office also told the mayor that a series of consultative meetings were done with the Cebu City Transportation Office before the road closure in Panganiban St. was implemented. It also said that there was also a similar staging area before in front of the now Out-Patient Department of the CCMC.
The City Engineering Office, however, agreed with the mayor to open a considerable portion of the road enough for emergency use.
“(What if) there will be fire over here and they will turn around because there’s a closed (road) over here. Who will they be haunting?” the Mayor said.
“Enough for a fire truck para pag may emergency papasok yan. Remove division,” Rama also told the M.E. Sicat, which is the contractor for the Phase 4 of the CCMC project.
([Just] Enough for a fire truck so that if there is an emergency the truck can enter the area. Remove the division.)
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