MARAWI CITY –– The national government is constructing a 50-bed hospital as part of its program to rebuild this city from the destruction wrought by the five-month siege by Islamic State-linked militants in 2017.
The building of the Marawi City General Hospital “symbolizes the rising up of the health sector in Marawi that was destroyed by the armed conflict (in 2017),” said Dr. Adriano Suba-an, Northern Mindanao’s health chief.
Suba-an has a supervisory role over state-run health facilities in Lanao del Sur.
“The health referral (and) the health facilities systems were destroyed, the health workers were displaced,” Suba-an noted.
He further observed that even privately owned clinics and pharmacies were also destroyed.
With the construction of a new hospital, Suba-an said he “is looking forward to the establishment of an efficient city-wide health system aligned to the universal health care thrust of the Department of Health.”
Marawi mayor Majul Gandamra said the establishment of the hospital is a big help for improving health services in the city since many private hospitals were damaged during the 2017 siege.
Gandamra added that the hospital would augment the services of the DOH-run Amai Pakpak Medical Center, which is now overwhelmed with patients and clients for out-patient services.
APMC, which was upgraded from a 200 to 400-bed capacity facility in 2018, is also the main COVID-19 referral center in Lanao del Sur.
The new three-story hospital will rise in Datu Naga village, at the cost of P290 million, including equipment.
Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, chair of Task Force Bangon Marawi, said the first phase of the project, costing P62 million, is covered by an appropriation in the current year, and the remaining P228 million in 2021.
When completed, the hospital will be run by the Marawi local government.
Apart from building the hospital, the DOH will also equip some 24 barangay health centers through a P30-million fund.