City Hall to end ‘Piso Mo’ fund drive

Cebu City Hall will end its “Piso Mo, Hospital Ko”  campaign to raise funds for the construction of a  new building for the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) on Dec. 15.

“It’s been over a year and I want it to officially come to an end by Dec. 15. If we continue, we might not be able to track them all and it might also become vulnerable,” Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama told reporters yesterday.

Rama said he wants all plastic bottles utilized as donation points placed in  markets, malls, schools, business establishments and at Cebu City Hall removed. Rama and some city officials were in Malacañang yesterday to receive a plaque of recognition for supporting the road sharing activity held as part of the Green Loop Experiment in Cebu City last Sept. 28.

The award was given by Presidential Advisor for Enviromental Protection Nereus Acosta and Philippine Climate Change Commissioner Naderev Saño.

He also instructed the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) to conduct an accounting of all the proceeds from the campaign which started on Oct. 21, six days after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Cebu and Bohol last year.

“I want them to also publish how much has been collected,” Rama said.

Pledges

Based on last month’s CTO count, the proceeds has so far reached P16 million. But Rama said the city will continue to receive donations for the construction of the new hospital which is pegged at P1.5 billion for the building alone. The mayor said he will also follow up earlier pledges made by foreign groups and local foundations.

The campaign was the brainchild of Cebu City Councilor Mary Ann Delos Santos who was appointed by Rama to head the CCMC ad hoc committee.

She said Rama told her about ending the “Piso Mo, Hospital Ko” campaign.

Delos Santos said she respects his decision and she’ll  leave it to him to raise the funds.