Earthquake and the city

It’s been one week since the big bang or major earthquake last Tuesday, Oct. 15. I think we’ve seen the extent of the damage caused by the 7.2 magnitude temblor especially in the province of Bohol.

In Cebu, some buildings sustained damage like the Basilica Minore del Sto Niño that lost its belfry and the Cebu City Medical Center that city engineers declared unsafe for occupancy.

Patients temporarily occupy the Cebu City Fire Station across the hospital. Mayor Michael Rama has asked the fire department to vacate the area to accommodate the displaced patients. However, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) national office directed local fire station staff to stay put, unmindful of the emergency.

I think the BFP should be sensitive and remember that the land on which the fire station is built belongs to the city. They should yield the space to patients who urgently need it.

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Mayor Rama finally declared that the city hospital is no longer safe for occupancy and would be demolished to give way to construction of a new one.

It’s unfortunate that the city hospital is no longer available to poor patients in the city but its closure is also for their safety and welfare.

The biggest challenge now facing the mayor and city residents is how to build a new hospital. Rama wants a bigger 1,000-bed hospital with state of the art facilities.

The question is where will the budget come from especially with a city council that is not supportive to the mayor?

Rama has identified initial sources of revenue for the project. I suggest that big corporations donate money to help. Business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan may be interested to invest in the new hospital.

The mayor said he hopes the national government and the Japanese government will help. I’m confident he can secure the necessary financial support to build this important edifice.

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People are busy gathering relief items to be sent to the earthquake victims in Bohol province. Through media reports, many us have seen the devastation that has also wrecked many of Bohol’s centuries-old churches.

Nearly all houses in affected towns were damaged in the calamity that shook the entire Central Visayas.

I’m appealing to our people, in the spirit of the coming Christmas season to give part of their resources to our countrymen badly hit by the earthquake.

They need water and food. Thankfully, areas initially inaccessible can now be reached as roads were cleared of debris that blocked motor vehicles.

Many of us have things in our households that we could share with our brothers and sisters in Bohol.

My father is from the town of Ubay, Bohol that was also affected by the earthquake. So far, we have not received any report of damage that affected relatives there.

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I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to Globe Telecommunications for fixing my broadband connection problem at home. Today, the connection is working well. Thank you for finally attending to the problem.