Mayor Rama Says Cebu City Hospital to Render Free Service to Poor City Residents

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) will render free service to all poor residents in the city.

”They no longer have to pay a single centavo,” Rama said.

Rama said the free hospital service to indigent resident started Saturday, on the same day the city broke ground for the new PHP1.6-billion CCMC building on N. Bacalso Avenue, this city.

Rama said CCMC will be the hospital for the marginalized and the underprivileged.

CCMC is currently operating at the old office of the City Traffic Operations Management and the nearby Bureau of Fire Protection compound on N. Bacalso Ave. pending the completion of the new hospital building.

The old CCMC building was demolished after it sustained heavy damage during the 7.2 magnitude earthquake on October 15, 2013.

The new CCMC will be a 10-story, 500-bed facility.

A PHP600-million budget for the first phase of construction has already been set aside.

The first phase will cover the foundation and the structural frames of the entire building.

The city turned over Saturday the notice of award for the project to C. E. Padilla Construction Inc., a Luzon-based firm.

The city set the target of completion at 21 months, but Joshua Carlo Padilla, C. E. Padilla’s project engineer, said they can finish construction before that date. (PNA) CTB/EB/SSC