Iglesia Ni Cristo’s Philippine Arena, billed as the “world’s largest indoor arena”. EDWIN BACASMAS
MANILA, Philippines—The Iglesia Ni Cristo is letting the national government use not just the massive Philippine Arena, but the entire 140-hectare Ciudad de Victoria estate in Bulacan to serve as quarantine complex amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once preparations are done, the complex would offer around 1,065 rooms for patients while 476 suites, good for two to four persons each, would be available for frontliners, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said during the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases briefing on Saturday.
“Yesterday, we learned more positive news that our brothers from the Iglesia Ni Cristo have agreed to let the government use the whole Ciudad de Victoria estate, not just the Philippine Arena itself, but the entire estate, to isolate and quarantine COVID-19 cases,” Nograles said.
Other than the world’s largest arena, the Ciudad de Victoria estate also houses the Philippine Sports Stadium and Garden Suites.
In a briefing yesterday, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Vince Dizon said that the government is eyeing 12 facilities in Metro Manila to also be converted into temporary isolation sites.
Among the facilities are the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Forum Halls, the World Trade Center, Rizal Memorial Coliseum, FTI facility in Taguig City, Quezon Institute, PhilSports Arena in Pasig, Filinvest Tent in Alabang, Duty-Free Philippines in Parañaque, Amoranto Sports Complex in Quezon City, open areas in Quezon Memorial Circle, and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center.
Conversion of the PICC Forum Halls, the World Trade Center, and the Rizal Memorial Coliseum have already started and are set to be completed by April 12. The three facilities are set to accommodate a total of 1,950 individuals.
The move comes as hospitals and healthcare centers struggle to accommodate the increasing number of COVID-19 patients. As of Friday, 3,018 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the Philippines, while 136 persons have so far died.